Say
by selandora
Summary: This time, Sakura will fight against Sasuke. Because this time, Naruto's the one at stake. narusakusasu
1. Hello, you bastard

**Story note: There are major spoilers from chapter 344 onwards. This story takes place before chapter 419 and disregards any of the events after that point. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto are still fifteen.**

* * *

"_Sasuke's heart is still a blank canvas. The right person could paint it whatever colour he wanted. And if that happened, would you be able to stop him?"  
- _Uchiha Itachi, Chapter 403

* * *

The first thing Sakura saw when she opened her eyes was a forest. Only, it was upside down.

The next thing that registered was that she was being dragged across the floor by somebody or something, she tried to move her head to get a better look but couldn't.

Alarmed, she tried to move her hands. They didn't budge. She tried moving her legs, her fingers, her arms, her toes but nothing happened. She felt so tired, she had been heavily drugged and she didn't know who by or why.

Sakura came to an abrupt stop and heard a loud, distinctly feminine voice.

"Shit."

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw the end of a black cloak embroidered with small red clouds approach her with a swish. She was unceremoniously pushed onto her stomach by a black stiletto and there was a loud rip.

"God damn it, I hate this!" the voice exploded.

Karin tried unsuccessfully to remove Sakura's shirt from where it had snagged on a sharp rock in the ground, but it only tore further. Karin swore and yanked the shirt impatiently, indifferent to the huge gaping hole in the back of Sakura's red shirt. Karin pushed Sakura with her foot onto her back and dragged her by her ankle again.

"Not that I care or anything, but don't you think Sasuke will get angry if the kunoichi dies on the way there?" a loud cynical voice questioned.

Karin glared at Suigetsu who had just caught up with them after finishing a battle. His shirt was crimson with blood- none of it his own. He stepped over Sakura who only saw a flash of silver and he fell into step with Karin as they walked through the forest.

"Did you do your job?" Karin snapped at him irritably.

Suigetsu shrugged and began to wipe the blood off his sword with his already ruined shirt. "Of course. The Konoha ninjas are dead, but they're probably sending reinforcements now."

"Then get back there and kill the reinforcements!"

"Gah, I hate the sound of your voice. We're not far away from the meeting place and Juugo can handle it on his own-"

She shrieked "You left Juugo on his own?! Are you that stupid? If the Kyuubi kid comes, Juugo will try to kill him and then Sasuke-kun will kill us-"

Sakura screamed.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Suigetsu demanded and Karin swore, rifling through her pouch for her needle and syringe.

The drug was wearing off and Sakura could feel everything now. She wished she couldn't. Pain was ripping through every last part of her body, her vision was white with the intensity of it and she still couldn't move. All she could do was scream and scream and scream as her punctured stomach released acid that burned through her skin, as dirt aggravated the wound on her arm that was deep enough to reveal white bone, as the blood in her lungs made it nearly impossible to breathe-

"Fuck, she's dying!" Suigetsu shouted.

"She's _not_," Karin insisted as she began to fill the syringe with the drug.

Sakura began to writhe in pain as movement returned to her, vomiting blood and pressing a hand against her stomach to try to heal herself. Her hand glowed as she tried to heal herself, knitting together stomach and lung tissue, healing blood vessels.

She threw her head back and screamed again, Suigetsu instinctively held her down and pinned both of her hands to the ground. She couldn't heal herself and Sakura moaned as her stomach ripped open again.

Sakura's arm flailed as it slipped out of Suigetsu's grip and accidentally slapped Karin's hand. The glass syringe filled with the drug flew out of her grip and smashed against the bark of a tree, breaking upon contact.

"Need to heal – dying -" Sakura gasped, her lips stained with her own blood.

She was punched in the face by Karin who shouted, "Shut up and stop moving!"

"Karin, fuck, if she dies now-"

A new voice spoke. "Give her to me."

Karin and Suigetsu winced as a dark, powerful chakra began to surround them and fill the area with its choking presence. Instinctively, Karin stepped away from Sakura and Suigetsu hesitated as Sakura let out another ear splitting scream.

In the next second, Suigetsu was thrown into a tree. It cracked under his weight and a fissure formed in the wood, his entire body crackling with blue electricity. Karin froze as the tall alabaster man approached her, her eyes wide with fear.

She began, "Sasuke-kun, I-"

"You and Suigetsu will go back and get Juugo. Do it quickly," his voice was clear and heavy with anger.

Karin swallowed thickly and left as quickly as possible, Suigetsu disappearing after her. Sakura fought to bring herself back from the brink of death, hands trembling with vivid green chakra. There was a whisper of cloth as Sasuke approached her and he stared down at her through expressionless onyx eyes.

When she tried to punch him, he caught her fist without even batting an eyelid. There was a loud satisfying crack as she broke two of his fingers but he didn't seem to be in any pain at all. Then, her chest constricted and metallic blood rose up in the back of the throat. She gasped and fell to her knees, her hands lunged out for the ground as support. Her fingers curled around the wet dirt.

"Heal yourself," he ordered her.

She glared up at him and he was surprised not to see the once seemingly unconditional love she held for him in her eyes. All that remained there was raw anger and her chakra suddenly spiked, filled with killing intent.

"Fuck you, Sasuke," she snarled at him.

His foot came down so fast on her hand she didn't have a chance to blink. She bit down viciously on her lip as he broke most of her fingers and the bones in her hand.

"You only need one hand to heal yourself. Do it now."

"**No.**"

It was then that Sasuke's eyes glowed hellish crimson. She had made the mistake of looking into them and even though she was inwardly screaming at herself to look away, she couldn't. The Sharingan wheels began to spin and so did her world as she fell to the floor, unconscious.

He lifted her into his arms effortlessly. All of her wounds had closed but blood was continuing to trickle from her mouth- even though she was bleeding internally, she would live. The leaves rustled, testimony to their presence as all that remained of them was a small scrap of red cloth, trapped against a rock like a prisoner.

* * *

Kakashi and Sai could barely hold Naruto back as he began to lose control and the red, blood red chakra began to change his eyes. The blue morphed into red and back again, red and back again and he let out a frustrated scream that was more animalistic than human.

"Where's Yamato-taichou?" Sai managed through his teeth as every last muscle in his body tensed as he strained to keep Naruto back.

Kakashi's voice was equally as tense and he answered, "He's on his way."

"Let me go! We need to get Sakura and you saw her, she was dying!" Naruto shouted, his teeth growing as he writhed against the iron grip that held him.

And even though it hurt Kakashi to hear those words, even though he wanted nothing more to go and bring Sakura back, he knew better.

"Naruto, Akatsuki probably took her because they knew you'd act like this. If you go now, you'll be running into their trap and they'll be ready for you. You know what it means for Konoha if they get their hands on you," Kakashi tried to reason with his student.

Naruto snarled, "So you're going to leave her to die?"

"They won't kill her as long as they know they can use her to get to you. We can come up with a plan to rescue her," Sai pointed out.

But Naruto couldn't wait, he could never wait when it came to her. He needed her like he needed air to breathe, like he needed water to live, she was his most precious person and the strongest tie he had to Team 7. He'd be damned if he let that slip through his fingers like Sasuke was beginning to.

He was beyond reason and the crimson chakra began to engulf him, changing him and feeding on his anger. Naruto threw his head back and let out another guttural scream of frustration as he tried to throw Kakashi and Sai off him with renewed force- Kakashi wasn't sure how much longer they'd be able to contain him.

It was then that five wooden stakes rose from the trembling earth, surrounding Naruto. Yamato had finally come. Kakashi and Sai exchanged a look and released Naruto, darting out of the circle as Yamato activated the seal. Naruto threw his head back and screamed a mangled, painful version of Sakura's name before falling unconscious.

The scream affected Kakashi more than it should have.

Yamato approached them, shuddering with the aftershock of the jutsu. He looked at Kakashi who nodded grimly, and then at Sai who was quietly looking at Naruto's still form.

"The council want to lock him up so that he doesn't go after Sakura. An ANBU unit is coming to retrieve him now," Yamato informed them in an undertone, as though Naruto could hear them even though he was knocked out.

Sai asked, "What about Tsunade-sama? Didn't she fight against them?"

"You know what she's like, she'd never let the council do that," Kakashi told him, his single exposed eye darkening.

Yamato's face was grave and he explained, "They've overruled her this time. They've argued that if Naruto isn't locked up, he'll inevitably go after Sakura-san on his own. They've got more than enough evidence to back it up as well, counting the number of times Naruto's disregarded orders to go after Sasuke. It would become a level one emergency if Naruto fell into Akatsuki's hands."

"It's a flawless argument," Sai murmured.

Kakashi closed his eyes to blink and when he opened them again, ANBU members had surrounded the four of them. One of the members bent down to pick up Naruto and slung him over his shoulder carelessly. He nodded to Yamato and Kakashi's jaw tightened as he gritted his teeth.

There was nothing he could do for any of his students right now.

* * *

When Madara laid eyes upon the girl, the urge to laugh in surprise nearly overwhelmed him. _This _child was the healing prodigy who had killed Sasori? She looked too innocent to be a ninja, she looked like a civilian. He waited patiently as Sasuke walked towards him, Sakura held in his arms like something vulnerable and breakable.

"You hold her like you love her," he commented indifferently.

Sasuke's mouth twisted into a frown and he stated flatly, "She means nothing to me."

"Good. If we find ourselves in a position where we have to kill her, it will be your duty then," Madara said casually, as though he wasn't talking about something as important as a life.

And Sasuke nearly hesitated.

His voice spilled forth before he could control it. "Naruto will come, he'll do anything to save her. He's headstrong and won't listen to anyone, even if they lock him up, he'll find a way to come to her."

"Didn't he want to be the next Hokage? Surely he'd put the safety of the village above one person," Madara pointed out and his words hung heavily in the thick air.

Sasuke said nothing, his onyx gaze unreadable. Madara felt the smallest smirk pull at the corner of his mouth, he _loved _screwing with the boy's head. Turning his back to Sasuke, he walked on ahead through the forest towards Amegakure.

Madara stated, "You're going to have to kill the girl eventually. When we have the Kyuubi, we won't have a use for her anymore."

There was no hesitation and no answer back this time from Sasuke, his footfalls were definite and firm as he followed Madara. Sasuke no longer wanted to carry Sakura let alone touch her, her very presence was irritating him.

- **fuck you, Sasuke **_even though she had been forced past her limit, her emerald eyes were dark with hatred and it made him wonder if those were the eyes he had reserved for Itachi up until the end-_

"I'm going on ahead," Sasuke announced.

"Wait, Sasuke. She will be your responsibility from now on and will be staying with you at all times. If anything happens to her, there will be consequences," Madara ordered him again.

And this time, Madara could clearly see the anger flicker in Sasuke's eyes. He looked ready to argue but the Mangekyou pinwheel appeared from within Madara's single exposed onyx eye. Sasuke left without another word and flashed through the trees, barely visible.

He was let into Amegakure easily, the guards could tell he was a member of Akatsuki by his cloak and that made him god's disciple. They didn't even look at Sakura, if a disciple was bringing anyone in there was a good chance it was on Pein's orders.

The compound was quiet, all of the members were out. It was extravagant and incredibly luxurious, the lobby was marble floored and a huge dangling chandelier towered over everything in the room. He removed his shoes at the entrance and placed them in a glass shoe case. The ceiling was ridiculously high and carved ethereal beasts followed him with sightless eyes as he walked down a seemingly endless woven indigo carpet in the centre of the lobby towards an ancient oak door.

It reacted to his chakra and swung open as he approached, revealing a combined dining room and living room. He ignored the room as he walked past, pushing open the door that led to his own room.

The white carpet was plush and soft against his feet and the rest of the room was the same pure white colour. The colour bothered him, which was why he always left the curtains to the large window covering an entire wall open, the constant rainfall made the room look grey. He put Sakura on the bed and turned his back on her, walking over to a slender mahogany table.

And he instinctively threw himself to the side as her chakra signature hurtled towards him. There was a loud resounding crack as the table split in half, collapsing in on itself with a loud reluctant groan. Sakura stood before him, her chest heaving painfully, but looking so very _alive_.

He looked at her in alarm, she shouldn't have woken up from his jutsu for another day at the least.

"When did you wake up?" he demanded.

"Take me back to Konoha," she snarled at him, "Take me back _now_."

She was purposely avoiding his eyes and stared at his throat instead of his face. He wouldn't be able to use his Sharingan to knock her unconscious again, this just made things infinitely more difficult for him.

"You're still as annoying as ever, I see," Sasuke commented.

He moved as she threw a punch at him angrily, he had learned from two broken fingers that it was probably best not to take a direct hit. Her movements were sluggish and careless with pain and anger, he kicked her in the shoulder. She blocked it with her unbroken hand and with a huge burst of chakra, pushed it away.

He hadn't been expecting that and quickly flipped backwards to regain his balance and put space between them. Her hands suddenly began moving faster than even his Sharingan eyes could properly follow and he knew instinctively that whatever the next jutsu would be her trump card. As she opened her mouth to activate the jutsu, a calloused hand covered it suddenly.

Her teeth bit down viciously on his hand but he refused to let go, even when a bead of blood trickled out from beneath his palm. His arm was wrapped around her stomach tightly to prevent her from moving, then she suddenly coughed.

Her sickeningly warm blood seeped out of his fingers. He released her in disgust and pushed her to the floor as she coughed, struggling for breath.

"You haven't achieved anything in the last four years," he said coldly.

She snarled back sarcastically, "I'm sorry if the rest of us don't have brothers to kill, asshole."

Before she could blink, she was pinned to the ground by her throat. Sasuke's crimson eyes bored into hers and she swore inwardly, she had been taken by surprise and couldn't look away. He didn't use the Sharingan on her, but the intensity of his ruthless crimson gaze was enough to hold her in place. His face was an angry, twisted imitation of his usual breathtaking face.

"Don't you _dare _talk about my brother," he hissed and released her throat.

She instantly recovered and snapped, "Stop underestimating me! I'm not the stupid little genin I was, Sasuke!"

"If that's the case, then why does Naruto still have to come save you?"

She let out a frustrated shout, trying to drown out his words because she had been working too hard for him to bring her down again. She moulded as much chakra as she could to her fist and she lunged for him, her foot outstretched to kick him.

He grabbed her by the ankle and twisted it. She twisted along with it, performing a perfect pencil spin and landed on the palm of her unbroken hand, spinning on it. Her leg swept the floor and he dodged it by leaping into the air, but she had counted on that.

She punched him and he dodged it- or so he thought. At the last second, she moulded her chakra into a fine scalpel and it dug deep into his arm, rendering it useless.

A gruff, abrasive voice stated, "If one of you kills the other, I'm not cleaning up the mess."

Sakura hesitated at the sound of the unfamiliar voice and that was all the time Sasuke needed to deliver a blow to her chest. She flew across the room and hit a bookcase, each of the shelves digging into her back as blood spurted from her mouth.

"God damn it, I was kidding!" Kisame snapped irritably at Sasuke who looked away indifferently.

Sasuke stated, "She's refusing to heal herself."

"Well maybe if you stopped _killing _her for a second, she'd be able to. I did not join this organization to play babysitter for all of you," he snarled.

Sasuke said nothing, he simply looked at Kisame with expressionless blood red eyes. For a moment, the resemblance to Itachi was striking and it stunned Kisame speechless momentarily. Then his lips curled in anger as he turned away, leaving the room.

The silence that followed was stiff with awkwardness.

Sakura's eyes opened as she fought to control her breathing, trying to prepare herself for the possibility of another fight with Sasuke. He had already taken advantage of her once, she wouldn't put it past him to do it twice. Using the bookshelf for support, she rose to her shaky feet and glared at him challengingly.

Sasuke was not looking at her at all. He turned his back on her and the awkward, awkward silence continued.

Then, as though it pained him to do so, he told her softly, "Heal yourself."

This time, she listened to him.

* * *

**Next chapter preview : and he looks like a-**

"_Do you pine over him like you used to do for me? Because I'm telling you, I don't think anybody on earth will ever take you seriously."_

"You forgot to scream."

"**Any punishment is better than staying with you."**

* * *

**If you want Selandora's autograph, please go to the end of the line. (Ah, I can dream.)**

**How could Sasuke land a hit on Suigetsu? Wouldn't it just go through him?  
**It's true that Suigetsu has that weird ability where anything goes straight through him like water, but at some point in Naruto it's revealed he has a weakness to lightning based attacks. Sasuke used a weak version of chidori to hit Suigetsu. (electricity + Suigetsu screwed Suigetsu)

**Hey, isn't it kind of stupid that Sasuke left that piece of Sakura's shirt on the rock? Konoha ninjas could follow their trail and come after them!  
**The point of Akatsuki's plan is to force Naruto to come after them. If they follow Sasuke's trail back to Amegakure, then Konoha will know for sure where Sakura is being held- which makes it easier for Naruto to find her.

**Is a level one emergency really that bad?  
**Um, I think it is. I watched the Naruto fillers with that stupid Sasuke-copy (Sora) and Tsunade announces all the emergency levels. Level one (in this story) is the worst situation for Konoha to be in.

**Holy, Madara's a bitch.  
**Yep, just a bit. I wasn't really sure how to portray him so I'm really just following my instincts here. I am _so _sure he's screwing around and manipulating Sasuke in Naruto.

**Hey, why did Kisame interfere?  
**Kisame respected Itachi and always seemed to look out for him, so I'd find it natural that he would subconsciously do the same for his brother. Kisame's the oldest guy in Akatsuki, minus Madara of course, so I think he'd be the most mature as well.

**Why'd Sakura listen to Sasuke at the end?  
**Sasuke is so full of snotty Uchiha pride and he hated hearing Kisame tell him that he should just let Sakura heal herself instead of fighting her, even though he knew it was the truth. It was really difficult for him to tell her to heal herself again and when he did, it was probably the closest thing to an apology he could give her. Sakura probably didn't read as deeply into it as I did, but she must have felt _something_ when he said that, yeah?

**Selandora (hopes you like the direction this is headed in so far.)**

_PS. If you have any other questions, drop me a review and I'll answer them in the next chapter._


	2. and he looks like a

"_Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes when you fall, you fly."  
__- _Sandman by Neil Gaiman

* * *

When Sakura slept, she didn't snore or toss and turn. Still, even just the sound of her breathing irked Sasuke to the point that he couldn't stand sleeping in the same room as her. She was fast asleep on the pale sofa on the other side of the room and Sasuke sat up, his gaze flickering to the rain streaked window and the balcony beyond.

He threw his feet over the side of the bed and stepped on something. He glanced down at it and picked up Sakura's medicinal pouch. Without even thinking, he opened it and pulled out a small storage scroll that fit into the palm of his hand perfectly. He performed a basic jutsu and it released a packet of photographs, bound tightly with a flimsy red rubber band.

Ripping off the rubber band, he began to flick through the photographs. The first one was of the new Team Kakashi with that annoying artist boy, Sai. Naruto wasn't as happy as Sasuke remembered him from their genin days, his eyes were more mature and he could see the hidden sadness within them. Sakura's gaze was the same as the defiant one she had fixed him with only a few hours ago and he moved onto the next photograph quickly.

It was of Naruto pushing Sai into a river. Looking at Sai's face made Sasuke uncomfortable, there was too much resemblance to himself there. Sai had a very confused, if not generally surprised expression on his face and Naruto was grinning widely at the camera.

As Sasuke flicked to the next photo, he stared at it for five minutes as if he couldn't fully process it.

Naruto was beaming, happier than Sasuke had _ever _seen him. Sakura's slender arms were thrown around his neck as he carried her effortlessly, much like Sasuke had hours before. It was the kiss she was planting on Naruto's whiskered cheek that confused him. He flipped the photograph onto its white, blank side, as if he was looking for an answer and his attention was drawn to the messy scrawl in the bottom right hand corner.

_I decided you needed a photograph of us together._

_Love you,  
__Naruto_

_PS. Keep this photo. When we get married, I'll frame it._

Looking through her photographs was a waste of his time, he didn't even know why he was doing it. He sat down and packed them back into her medical pouch hastily, staring out of the dreary window.

When Sasuke did nothing, elusive thoughts crept into his mind and made him think about things he no longer wanted to remember. He knew this all too well, which was why he always forced himself to do something. Most of the time he would go and train, but he couldn't leave Sakura alone now. She would try to escape if he gave her the chance.

He couldn't believe Naruto and Sakura were dating. The Sakura he knew had hated Naruto and all of his stupid attempts to woo her, she had always had her eyes set on him. She would never have agreed to be Naruto's girlfriend.

Blankets rustled behind him as Sakura woke. He continued to watch the raindrops trickle down the glass like teardrops, ignoring her, and she was quiet. Her eyes took in curve of his long, pale back, but she couldn't see how many scars marred the white skin even though she was sure there were many. There wasn't enough light in the room.

"He won't come for me," she said finally, breaking the silence. Sasuke made no effort to turn around to meet her gaze.

The thick navy blue blanket was pulled around her shoulders more securely, the room was cold. She wondered if Sasuke was cold, all he was wearing was a pair of dark slacks.

She didn't know if he was listening or not, but continued anyways, "Konoha won't allow it. They'll ban him from coming anywhere near the Akatsuki."

"That's never stopped Naruto in the past," Sasuke stated indifferently.

So he was listening.

Her hands clenched in the blankets as she tried to control her anger. He was speaking like he still knew Naruto like the back of his hand, but he hadn't been there for the past four years. He was always assuming, always underestimating and she hated him for that.

"He still thinks you'll return to Konoha if he tries hard enough," she told him, frowning, "He doesn't realize that you never will."

"At least one of you has noticed."

She snapped at him, "Don't you _care_?"

Silence fell over the room again.

"For four years, all Naruto ever thought about was you. He took every mission he could if it meant he was getting closer to you and he trained so hard, so that he'd be able to bring you back by force if he needed to. He misses you-"

"Don't waste your breath. I'll never return to Konoha," he interrupted her, turning at last to meet her glare.

She snapped, "I'm not doing this for your sake, asshole, I'm doing this for Naruto's."

He stood up then and walked towards her, each step firm and confident. Kneeling down so that they were at eye level, he stared at her. The look unnerved her and she pressed her back to the sofa, trying to put as much space between them as was possible.

"Do you pine over him like you used to do for me? Because I'm telling you, I don't think anybody on earth will ever take you seriously," he said harshly.

"Naruto _loves _me," she snarled at him angrily and instinctively.

A triumphant smirk spread across his face, illuminated by a flash of silent lightning from the window. He was tragically handsome and he told her in a voice like velvet, "If that's the case, then he'll come for you."

He watched in satisfaction as her face fell and hundreds of conflicting emotions battled against one another. She was too easy to read and even easier to manipulate, Sasuke's smirk only grew.

"You-" she hissed at him.

- **and when you have enough hatred, come look for me again **_and Sasuke hated him, becoming obsessed with hatred and revenge, and only when it was too late _-

"**I hate you!**" she snarled, pulling back a fist to punch him.

He watched her fist fly towards him. Even without any chakra, Sakura could easily break his neck with one hit. He wanted to see if she'd ever truly be able to bring herself to kill him, and even though it was reckless and stupid, he made no move to dodge the hit. He didn't believe she'd be able to kill him because he was so convinced she still loved him.

His head cracked to the side.

Her angry breaths filled the quiet room, in, out, in, out. Green eyes blazed like fire and he swore he could almost hear the crackle, her face flushed pink with anger. He slowly turned his head to meet her gaze once again.

"You're only alive because if I kill you, Naruto will never forgive me," she spat at him.

It sounded like an excuse to the both of their ears, but Sakura didn't want to read any deeper into it. She had spent so long getting over Sasuke and she had Naruto now and she _loved _him, loved him more than she had ever loved Sasuke.

His jaw was sore, but nothing was broken. He lifted a hand and touched her cheek with his fingers. She flinched at the cold touch and when she pulled her face away, he gripped her chin tightly and forced her to look at him.

She began, "Don't-"

And she stopped as his fingertips ghosted over her lips. They were as cold as ice and she shivered suddenly. Her breath caught in her throat as his crimson gaze penetrated through her very soul, as if he was searching for something.

She finally found her voice. "Don't do this to Naruto."

Something flashed in the depths of his bloody eyes for the briefest of moments. He released her chin like she had burned him and returned to his bed, staring at the endless rain outside. He ignored her once more and after staring at his figure for a while longer, she fell asleep.

* * *

Frustration seeped out of every pore of Naruto's body and he smashed a fist against the walls that confined him. He was being held in one of highest security criminal cells, making it impossible for him to escape. The walls were made of a special chakra metal that was designed to suck away one specific person's chakra.

Naruto let out a loud, mangled shout and punched the wall with his fists as hard as he could again and again. The skin of his knuckles was splitting and it wouldn't be long before they started bleeding, but he needed to get _out_-

"Stop making things more troublesome. You're giving the council more reason to keep you in there," a voice commented and Naruto glanced up at a small speaker where it had come from in the corner of the room.

"Shut up, Shikamaru. It's not like any you're doing anything to help Sakura," Naruto spat back at it.

There was a tense silence on the other end. Naruto had struck a nerve, but Shikamaru recovered quickly.

"I know you're angry, but you're going to have to calm down. You're only in there until your chakra's recognized in the force field. If you can prove to the council that you're in control of yourself, then Tsunade-hime might be able to convince them to let you go after Sakura with a team," he tried to make Naruto see reason.

Konoha was surrounded by a chakra force field that detected everyone that passed through it and it was controlled by a special division. The force field was being manipulated so that it would recognize Naruto's chakra and refuse to let him out of Konoha- like an impenetrable wall.

The erratic blonde's teeth grit against one another as he bared his teeth in an animalistic snarl. His cerulean eyes were a dark ocean blue with rage. "Sakura might be _dead _by then. We need to save her now-"

Shikamaru interrupted, "Would you risk Konoha for Sakura?"

- **painful decisions you have to make as Hokage **_and Naruto watched as Tsunade stared at a picture of a man with hair of clouds and tearstains of blood, her eyes clouded over with all that was and maybe could have been _-

"Is one life really more important hundreds of others?" he pressed Naruto.

"**This isn't a god damned game of shogi!**"

Silence reigned over the other end of the line at Naruto's outburst. The emotional jinchuuriki hissed, "No life is worth more than another one. If I can save even one person then I'll save them, no matter what."

Shikamaru's voice was weary as he finished dismissively, "You're not going to get out of there any other way, Naruto. Remember what I said."

* * *

Sakura awoke to the unmistakable sound of a running shower and, glancing around the room blearily, she found herself alone. The door of the bathroom to her left was slightly ajar, casting yellow fluorescent light across the dull white carpet and smoke rolled lazily out through the gap. It was still raining – did it ever stop raining in Ame? – and she quietly stood up, making her way over to the glass doors that led to the balcony.

This was the chance she had been waiting for. She had seen Sasuke walk out onto the balcony more than once the night before and she had tested the doorknob herself- it wasn't locked at all. Any ninjas who jumped from the balcony to the ground hundreds of feet below would die instantly unless they used a jutsu, so there hadn't been a need for him to lock the door since she didn't have any chakra. Even so, Sakura was desperate.

There was a shrill squeak as a tap was turned off and the sound of running water came to a halt. Sasuke emerged from the shower wearing a pair of navy slacks and his eyes narrowed suspiciously when he found that Sakura wasn't sleeping on the sofa where he had last left her. There was a flurry of movement outside on the balcony and he met Sakura's wide, terrified eyes from where she stood on the slippery metal guard railing.

She seemed absolutely frozen as he opened the glass door to the balcony and he frowned at her in disapproval. He commanded her, "Come down from there."

"S-Sasuke…" she stuttered, shocked that she had been caught.

He waited expectantly for her to step down and go back to the sofa obediently, she had been caught trying to escape and it was unlikely she'd try it again. Sakura had never been determined or stubborn or any of those things and was easily intimidated, Sasuke could read her like a book. She didn't have any chakra and she hadn't secured herself to the railing with it. She was weak and drugged, and as she began to step down, Sasuke saw her legs wobble and knew she had fallen before it happened.

He grabbed at her wrist as she fell but her skin was slippery with rainwater and it slid right through his fingers. He swore inwardly as she plummeted through the air heavily and missed the grin of triumph on her face.

Sakura knew she would be fine. The building was so high that it created a strong up drift, in other words, the wind would be rushing strongly up the side of the building. She had known from the moment she saw the raindrops falling outside the window, they fell almost horizontally as a result of the wind pushing them back up. When Sakura jumped over the side of the building, she had spread her body to create as much wind resistance as was possible and the wind had begun to try and push her back up.

She had her storage scroll in her back pocket and she had prepared the white blanket she had slept in, as well as a shirt of hers. She had tied it so that the knotted blanket would look like a human being from far away and the unmistakable crimson of her shirt would lead anyone to think that it was her. Using the metal from one of her stiletto buckles, she had made a grappling hook and she gripped it tightly, prepared to throw it soon to latch onto one of the stone figures on the side of the building. While she was swinging to safety, she would release the fake dummy Sakura and nobody would know any better. Even Sasuke's Sharingan wouldn't be able to see that far.

Just as she prepared to take the grappling hook out of her storage scroll, something strong and warm and completely unexpected wrapped around her waist.

Sasuke had jumped over the edge to save her.

His dark hair was plastered to his alabaster face with rain and his Sharingan eyes were distracted, flashing from side to side. His arm was tight around her waist and he pulled her closer, forcing her to press her hands against his muscular chest. There was a flash of lightning and it illuminated everything. Their faces were so close that Sakura could count each individual raindrop that slid down his flawless skin.

_He looks like a hero-_

Sakura hardly realized it when they froze in midair, a mere two centimetres from the ground. She had completely missed the fact that Sasuke had used a wind jutsu and only snapped out of her reverie when he glanced down at her, his crimson eyes clashing with her emerald ones.

His hand tightened on her waist and their faces were pulled impossibly close. Sasuke's hot breath spiralled over her mouth and his eyes captivated hers effortlessly. Was it her imagination or was he growing _closer_-

"You forgot to scream," he told her quietly.

She didn't process what he said for the first five seconds and then recognition dawned on her. Her storage scroll was yanked roughly out of her back pocket and she let out a yelp of protest as she tried to get it back from Sasuke.

"No, don't- give it back!" she insisted.

He raised an eyebrow and opened the storage scroll. Her Sakura dummy and makeshift grappling hook fell out first, then all of her photographs and medical revision scrolls. She swore and fell to her knees, gathering up her photographs and scrolls before the rain could damage them any further.

Sasuke stared at the dummy and the grappling hook. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then he shut it again and shook his head in disbelief. Shutting the storage scroll, he grabbed the medical scrolls and photographs from her hands and held them in a bundle with the storage scroll.

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu_," he said calmly.

Blinding panic filled Sakura as the flame erupted from his mouth and she _had _to stop him from burning her photographs, she couldn't let all her memories turn to ash and she reacted-

Sasuke's head cracked to the side as she punched him.

The chakra flame that erupted from his mouth burned one of the stone monuments overhanging the tower into nothing and the both of them were absolutely shocked. There was a stunned pause.

And then triumph and pride flooded through Sakura. She wanted to laugh, but she held it in as Sasuke slowly turned his head to face her.

She didn't even see his fist coming until she skidded across the floor painfully, spraying rainwater everywhere. Her cheek throbbed painfully and she looked up at Sasuke with venomous emerald eyes. The items in Sasuke's hands began to burn and he threw them carelessly onto the pavement. The flame couldn't be put out by ordinary rainwater, it was made from chakra, and the base urge to save her photos filled her. She wanted to scramble across the floor and save them before it was too late, but she refused to bend down at Sasuke's feet and kill whatever pride she had left.

As she watched the photos burn, a lump formed in her throat and she felt like she was making a mistake. Sasuke wasn't watching the photographs, he was watching her for a reaction. He wasn't sure what he was looking for but he felt satisfied when he saw the lost, hurt look on her face. The photograph of her and Naruto was curling up and barely any of it remained as it was eaten away by fire. Only a part of Naruto's message was readable.

_Love you_

She should have picked up those photos. She should have, she shouldn't have cared what the hell Sasuke thought of her, she should have just bent down and picked them up because those photos were more important to her than Sasuke would ever be. Something like a sob choked her throat and she refused to let it out as the fire consumed Naruto's words and the memory.

- **you're not cute **_she had teased Naruto and in a split second, he had picked her up effortlessly and thrown her onto his back, heading towards a river and she pretended to struggle as they both kept laughing -_

"If you try to escape again, your punishment will be much harsher," Sasuke's voice was firm and final.

She raised her head and he couldn't make out the expression in her eyes. Her voice was harsh as she snarled at him, "Any punishment is better than staying with you."

She might as well have been talking to a brick wall, her words had absolutely no effect on Sasuke. And it wasn't as though what she said made a difference- spiteful words wouldn't keep the fire from destroying her memories.

* * *

**Next chapter preview : Maybe it was an overreaction**

"Just take off your clothes."

"_I'm Houzuki Suigetsu."_

"**Don't touch her."**

* * *

**I don't understand half of this story.**

**Is this **_**really **_**a sasusaku story? They just seem to be killing each other all the time.  
**It'll get to sasusaku eventually. I develop relationships at a really slow pace (sorry!) and since I actually hate Sasuke my writing might be a bit biased.

**You hate Sasuke? Then why the hell are you writing a sasusaku?  
**At the end of the day, Naruto is going to end narusaku or sasusaku so I'm going with the flow. It's too much to hope for Itachi or Deidara to come back to life and sweep Sakura off of her feet, no matter how much I want it to happen. I was also really inspired by a story called Colour Theory by BlueGreenApples (that stuff is genius).

**Sakura just keeps on punching Sasuke. You'd think he'd get more pissed.  
**Yeah, Sasuke's going to have a really bad black eye. Every time she's punched him, he's found a way to punish her- either by hitting her back or burning her photographs. Admittedly, he should maybe be doing more to stop her, but he's still a little bit more lenient with her.

**What was the jutsu Sasuke used to burn Sakura's photos?  
**I'm not sure what the English translation is, but it's the jutsu where he creates a giantic fireball. I think Sasuke would be able to control the size of his fireball though, he wouldn't create a huge one just to destroy photos. :P

**Can I have your autograph?  
**Wow. Wow, I'm really going to get insanely big headed because of you people but OF COURSE YOU CAN.

**What's Itachi got to do with anything? Isn't he…you know…dead?  
**His death affected Sasuke really deeply and of course, that's the reason Sasuke's all for destroying Konoha. Sasuke wanting to destroy Konoha becomes a major theme in this story eventually.

**How'd Karin beat Sakura?! Sakura's the best!  
**This wasn't really properly explained, I'm sorry. Sakura was owning Karin initially, but then she felt Naruto release Kyuubi and hesitated. Karin stuck a needle in Sakura's gut that knocked her out and made her paralyzed while Sakura was distracted. So really, it's all Naruto's fault, even if I love him to bits.

**Which Konoha nin did Suigetsu kill? And is Suigetsu in the next chapter?!  
**Random ones. Don't worry, they were just really there to give him an edge. (gosh, that sounds so morbid.) Um, yes, in the preview it clearly has him introducing himself. He meets Sakura properly.

**When can I expect the next chapter?  
**I usually update every two weeks, but if I'm struggling then it's a bit longer.

**Hey, wait a minute. Wasn't the preview different in chapter 1?  
**Um, yes it was actually. At first, this was going to be some really angsty chapter where Sasuke ditches Sakura for a mission and puts her in Suigetsu's care. Then Suigetsu proceeds to torture her to the point that he can't heal her and she's dying, and then lovely Juugo goes and rats him out to Sasuke. Sasuke comes back, throws a fit and saves Sakura. I deleted that though because I had a good think about Suigetsu's character and even though he likes torturing people, hanging out with Team Hawk has changed him a bit for the better and he's not so stupid he'd screw with the hostage.

**Why did ffnet suddenly change their layout for the author's section?!  
**I know! I saw it and I was like, "Oh my God, what do I press to update?" You guys nearly didn't havave a new chapter because of it. :) Nah, I'm just kidding, of course I'd find a way to update even if it meant I had to hack the system.

_Thanks to all the people who put questions in or reviewed. Hopefully that answers all of your questions. If it doesn't, drop me a review. : )_

**Selandora (has a really nasty sunburn.)**


	3. chip, chip, chip

"_Right now, Sasuke is in the darkness. You're the only one that can help him."  
__- Neji_

* * *

Rough abrasive sharkskin shook Sakura awake and she flinched at the touch, her emerald eyes snapping open instinctively. Before she could blurt out, Kisame covered her mouth with a hand and she began to struggle against his grip. There was little light in the room and her eyes darted around frantically, searching for Sasuke. He wasn't there and she was stuck with an S-Class criminal who was far stronger than her. If Kisame tried to- if he tried to _rape_ her-

"I need you to listen to me. There's not much time before Sasuke comes back," he told her quietly, his voice a low murmur.

The room was dim, a whisper of morning light filtered through the rain clouds and glass, illuminating them with what little light sunrise could offer. His bluish tinged skin seemed almost grey in the darkness and he seemed so solemn, so mature. She searched his onyx gaze for any killing intent, any lust, anything that seemed even remotely harmful, but could find nothing.

Slowly, suspiciously, she began to relax and he let go of her. His fingers had chafed the skin of her arms and she resisted the urge to rub at the wounds, she couldn't appear weak.

She asked him, "What..?"

"You have to convince Sasuke out of destroying Konoha," he told her sharply.

She blurted, more loudly than she intended, "He wants to destroy Konoha?"

He tensed and his eyes flashed a sharp warning at her to keep it down. In a surprised whisper, he continued, "You didn't know?"

"No, this is the first I've heard of it. But why would he want to?" she wondered quietly, feeling the mile wide rift between her and Sasuke widen inch by inch with each second that passed.

He gave her a quick one word answer that didn't answer anything at all. "Itachi-san."

She questioned, "Itachi?"

"There's not enough time to explain, someone will detect my chakra if I stay for too long. You have to persuade Sasuke, you're the only one here that might be able to," Kisame stressed.

She said suspiciously, "Why are you doing this? Don't you want to destroy Konoha?"

"I don't particularly care what happens to Konoha. But, Sasuke doesn't understand that this was never what Itachi-san wanted."

"I don't understand," she told him, her eyes clouded with confusion.

His entire body tensed suddenly, unexpectedly.

"Suigetsu is awake," he said sharply, rising to his feet.

"Wait, I don't understand what you're telling me," she blurted, her voice rising higher with frustration.

Dismissively, he told her, "I can't explain it to you now. Some other time."

He made his way towards the bathroom and opened the door, leaving it wide open for Sakura to see what he was doing. There was a hiss as he pulled the shower curtain aside and stepped into the bathtub, his hands working through a series of signals. His body dissolved into water and it splashed against the sides of the ceramic bath, trailing down the drain, and it was as though he had never been in the room at all.

There was a whisper of cloth as Sasuke slipped back into his bedroom hours later, the only sound that alerted Sakura to his sudden presence. Subconsciously, her hands tightened around her flimsy bed sheets and she pulled them to her chest defensively. He pretended not to notice the movement and the connotations it had, moving back to his usual spot on the edge of his bed.

Neither of them said a single thing to the other.

Sakura's mind whirred noisily, making up for the lack of conversation. The Sasuke she knew would have done anything in order to defeat Itachi, including destroying Konoha. Now that he had defeated Itachi, it didn't make sense that he would still want to destroy Konoha- he was already as powerful as he needed to be. What reason would he have? Her gaze became unfocused as she stared at Sasuke's back, the dark cloak a stark contrast to the rest of the pale room.

She needed to determine if Kisame had been telling the truth, and if he had, then why would Sasuke do such a thing? However, she couldn't exactly demand Sasuke for the answers. Knowing Sasuke, he probably deemed her too unimportant to even think of telling her.

(_and she was always unimportant, useless, annoying, _**annoying**)

She forced herself to think of something else, to think of-

"Have your wounds healed up?" Sasuke asked her, his voice emotionless.

Suspiciously, she demanded, "Why do you care?"

"I don't, but I've been given orders to keep you as healthy as possible," Sasuke explained tonelessly.

There was a short, fleeting stab of pain deep within her at his words, which then morphed into simmering anger. She suppressed it and said curtly, "I'd be better if I could actually _heal_ myself."

Disinterestedly, he told her, "I'm not restoring your chakra."

"Would you rather I die?" she asked sharply.

He ignored her, his pale back still as he stared out the window.

"Have you heard anymore about Naruto?" she blurted, breaking the silence.

Coldly, he asked, "Will it really make a difference if you know?"

In contrast, she retorted hotly, "Of course it will, I'm worried about him and-"

"There is nothing you can do for him," he stated.

Stubbornly, she snapped, "Do you know anything about Naruto or not?"

Deliberately, he stressed, "No."

His crimson eyes gleamed with knowledge and the ghost of a smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth, he was obviously lying. It infuriated Sakura to no end and her expression contorted into one of extreme anger, but it only appeared to fuel him.

Sasuke's fingers were as cold as ice as they brushed against the side of her flawless face. She recoiled immediately, putting as much space as was possible between them, and he continued to smirk down at her as though she hadn't just rejected him.

She snarled, "_Don't touch me!_"

His eyes burned with victory and amusement as the light cast shadows on his alabaster face. "You're scared."

"I'm not scared of you," she challenged him immediately.

"No. Not of me," he agreed.

She saw his hand move and knew immediately that she couldn't dodge it in time, he was too fast. Throwing her head to the side in a last ditch attempt to avoid him, his fingers gripped her chin tightly. No matter how much she struggled, in her current state he was too strong for her. She tried to resist him as he forced her to look at him and was powerless to do anything, his triumphant gaze locking onto her furious one.

His voice was merciless. "You're scared that you might end up betraying Naruto."

Agonizing silence fell between them as she was caught completely off guard, her round eyes wide with surprise. His smirk only grew at her dumbfounded expression and slowly, he removed his hand from her chin.

She then pushed him away from her as hard as she could, drawing her body in as close as possible defensively. Her voice was sharp as she hissed, "I would _never_ betray Naruto."

Even so, his words left a bad taste in her mouth.

* * *

Naruto's head swam with Sakura, her voice, her face, her touch. What were the Akatsuki doing to her now? He desperately needed to know, was she safe? Was she hurt? All the love in the world couldn't save her now, believe him he had tried, and he had never felt so helpless in his entire life. Not for the first time, he raked his hands through his blonde hair and let out a loud moan of frustration. He wanted nothing more than to tear down the walls that enclosed him, but it was impossible to leave this hellhole without the Hokage's consent. There was a grating noise as the door was unlocked and a guard entered, putting a Styrofoam bowl of soup on the ground in front of Naruto. From his pocket, he produced a letter and held it up to his face, making sure Naruto saw it.

Then he placed it onto the ground beside the bowl of soup. On its cover, elegant calligraphy spelled out his name and the door shut. The room enveloped him in silence and Naruto stared at the letter suspiciously.

Slowly, he rose to his feet and approached the letter. He completely ignored the soup and pulled open the seal with a rip. A photograph slipped out and landed on the cold metal ground, white side upwards.

He flipped it over.

The doors to Tsunade's office slammed open and she looked up in outrage, ready to shout at whoever had barged right in. An apprehensive looking jounin stood there, his chest heaving up and down.

"Tsunade-hime! There's a problem with Uzumaki-san!" he blurted, urgency colouring his voice.

Every last muscle in her body tensed and she demanded quickly, "Explain."

"He suddenly started going crazy a moment ago and his chakra is spiking-"

"Has he broken out of the containment cell?" she inquired, rising to her feet.

He replied worriedly, "No ma'am, but we're not sure if the cell will hold him."

"Call for Yamato and bring him to Naruto, immediately," she ordered him.

Rage, absolute fury painted his world crimson and Naruto threw his head back, a guttural scream ripped from his throat. A fifth tail was beginning to sprout from his back like a broken wing, his red eyes darting and black slitted pupils searching. He raked his talons down the metal walls and they left marks in the wall where the metal melted beneath his fingers. He shrieked, his mind filled with blood, blood and her, _her_ blood, her_ blood and Sasuke's_-

"Naruto," a sharp voice called from the other side of the room.

Tsunade stood there and Naruto's head snapped towards her, his face contorted with rage. Yamato formed the necessary hand jutsus and Naruto howled, knowing what was about to come and lunged towards the two of them. Tsunade held her ground even as he came within a hair's breadth of her face, but he was thrown violently to the side before he could harm her.

Shikamaru stood in front of Tsunade protectively, breathing heavily. He gripped his forearm, Naruto had managed to get a quick slash in, and it burned like acid onto his skin. Yamato's stakes rose from the ground and trapped Naruto, controlling him. It was only when Naruto was completely unconscious that any of them were able to relax.

"He only transforms when he's extremely angry. What triggered it?" Yamato asked, looking at Naruto with a frown.

Shikamaru moved towards the centre of the room and noticed out of the corner of his eye that something was clenched tightly in Naruto's fist. He pried it out with some difficulty and smoothed out the crumpled photograph, his eyes narrowing at the image on it.

His voice was low and strained as he fought to control himself. "This did."

Tsunade took the photo from him immediately and was rendered speechless. A limp and unconscious Sakura was slung over Sasuke's Akatsuki cloak-clad shoulder, but she was covered in so much blood and the bone shards protruded from her chest, she looked like she was about to break and Sasuke didn't even seem to _care_-

"How did this get in here? Who was the last guard on duty?" Tsunade demanded angrily.

"He committed suicide. I found his body in the bathroom," Shikamaru explained.

Tsunade cursed loudly and Yamato lowered his head. There was still more information to come and Shikamaru knew exactly how Tsunade would react to the next piece of information, which was why he was reluctant to tell her.

He hesitated before adding, "He was wearing a headband from Amegakure."

Her hands closed into fists and her silence was more terrifying.

"We should move him to another cell," Yamato suggested, sensing that if Tsunade continued she'd only upset herself more.

"Give him one reserved for S-class criminals. If he transforms into Kyuubi, then we're going to need all the protection from him we can get."

* * *

The knock at the door was soft, but it rang like a death knoll in the quiet bedroom. Sasuke was forced to abandon his thoughts and rose silently to answer it. Sakura stirred quietly on her makeshift but but remained asleep, her breathing short and shallow from the wounds to her ribs. Light from the common area spilled into his bedroom and he instinctively felt the urge to close it, almost throwing a glance back at Sakura. Karin coolly took in his slack posture and the gauntness of his face and knew that he was having a harder time keeping the kunoichi in check.

"Sasuke-kun? Did I wake you?" she questioned.

Before he could stop himself, he had begun to compare Karin to Sakura. Karin was sharp where Sakura was soft, she was bold red where Sakura was pastel pink, she was useful where Sakura was-

"No," he replied more sharply than he had intended.

Karin peered into the bedroom and her eyes narrowed at the sight of Sakura sleeping peacefully on the sofa. "I hope you understand that forming any emotional attachments to our hostage will compromise everything in the future."

"Are you questioning my ability to stay professional?" he demanded, his voice cutting through her like a blunt axe with every word.

"Not at all, but I understand that you have had prior attachments to her-"

"That's enough. You have nothing to worry about, Karin."

Karin's heart settled into her chest and filled it with relief. She let her arms relax and allowed herself to smile up at him. He didn't return the gesture, as usual.

"Did you have another purpose in coming here, aside from questioning my relationship with Sakura?" he demanded.

The smile disappeared from her face and Sasuke fought the urge to tense defensively, knowing what was inevitably coming next. She told him quietly, "Madara-sama wants you."

Sasuke paused for a moment and it seemed as though he hadn't heard Karin at all. She opened her mouth to repeat it, just in case he really hadn't heard her, but he moved back into the room. Karin watched in small horror as he bent down and wrapped his arms around Sakura, lifting her to his chest. She stirred slightly and let out a small moan before relaxing against him, completely naïve and trusting.

Karin was horrified because they looked so comfortable with each other.

"What are you doing?" she blurted instinctively.

He stated, "If she is left alone, she will try to escape."

"You don't have to take her with you," she insisted.

There was a click as Suigetsu opened his door and he grumbled groggily, "God Karin, your voice is so fucking loud."

She snarled, "Shut up, Suigetsu-"

"The both of you, make sure Sakura doesn't escape while I'm gone," Sasuke ordered them.

Karin protested, "What? Why do I have to stay with him?"

"Don't be an idiot, Karin. You'll obviously try to kill the hostage the first chance you get just because she's spending too much time with Sasuke," Suigetsu answered her question for her, scratching his head irritably.

She lied, "I wouldn't."

Sasuke put Sakura down and exchanged a look with Suigetsu. It made the silver haired boy grin instinctively, he had read the scepticism in Sasuke's eyes, and he walked into Sasuke's bedroom. Before Karin could argue again, Sasuke had already left and Suigetsu had made himself extremely comfortable on Sasuke's bed.

Madara was always at the very top of the gigantic Akatsuki building, regardless of the rain. Sasuke made his way up there now and Madara turned his head ever so slightly as Sasuke approached him, his onyx hair plastered to his pale face.

"Sasuke-kun," he greeted him, his voice warm and deceiving.

Sasuke asked, "You asked for me, Madara-san?"

"I'm going to take Haruno-san from you for a little while," Madara explained.

"Hn," Sasuke hummed in agreement, barely flinching as the raindrops struck his face in protest.

Offhandedly, Madara commented, "Hopefully Zetsu-san can convince her to work with us against Naruto-kun."

Against his own will, Sasuke's body froze. In as detached a voice as possible, he questioned, "Zetsu? Is he going to torture her?"

"If it comes to that, yes," Madara replied, as though he wasn't bothered by it at all.

Before Sasuke could help himself, he said sharply, "No."

Madara raised his eyebrows at Sasuke's blatant refusal and slowly, Sasuke felt his ancient chakra poison the air around them, choking him with power. Madara asked him in a quiet, deadly voice, "What?"

"I'll take Zetsu's place," Sasuke ground out firmly.

"That's not possible."

"I know Sakura best, it'll be much easier for me to break her-"

"That may be, but I can't risk that. If I let you replace Zetsu, you might go easy on her and the interrogation would prove counterproductive," Madara explained coolly.

Sasuke grit his teeth and forced down the indignant response that had leaped to his throat. Madara watched Sasuke struggle inwardly and stiffly, Sasuke turned to go back into the building. Sasuke could make no sense of the thoughts that whirred through his head, he couldn't focus on anything but _not Zetsu, not Zetsu, she won't be able to-_

"Zetsu-san is going to come for her tomorrow," Madara called after him.

There was no reply from the brooding Sasuke and Madara watched him leave, the smallest smirk spreading across his face.

* * *

"…kura. Sakura."

Her eyes fluttered open slowly and her vision was blurred in hues of black and white. There was barely any light in the room and it took her a few moments to realise that someone was gripping her arm tightly, she glanced at it in confusion before meeting Sasuke's gaze.

In a voice hoarse from sleeping, she asked him, "Sasuke?"

His hands were so cold and he was wet, but he didn't seem to care at all. She watched in absentminded fascination as the dim light from the balcony illuminated the water on his skin. A single silver raindrop fell from his long eyelashes and she followed its descent as it traced his cheeks and his chin.

"Sakura," he said again, and her mind began to clear.

She shrugged slightly, trying to free herself from his grip and he let his hold relax. He never let go however and she could feel the pressure of his fingers on her bare skin as his gaze bored into hers.

"What the hell, Sasuke?" she mumbled groggily.

"Tomorrow, answer all of the questions you're asked," he told her sharply.

"What?"

His grip tightened on her arm again to the point that it was nearly painful and she could feel his warm breath on her lips, in and out, in and out. She didn't understand what he was telling her, what questions-?

"Don't talk back. Just answer the questions as quickly as you can. Do you understand what I'm saying?" he asked her.

She tensed and demanded, "I'm going to be interrogated? About Konoha? About Naruto?"

"I don't know," he snapped at her sharply, the mere mention of Naruto's name setting him on edge.

"Why're you telling me this?" she asked suspiciously.

And Sasuke found that he again, he didn't know. His jaw clenched tightly and he snapped, "If you're cooperative tomorrow, I won't have to look after you anymore."

"As nice as that sounds, there's no way in hell I'm going to tell them anything."

"Then you'll be tortured for days on end until you do tell them something," Sasuke threatened her.

"I'm a chuunin, Sasuke. I know how to deal with interrogations-"

He interrupted sharply, "_Nothing_ you've been taught will prepare you for tomorrow."

"I don't understand why you're acting like you care, but I can handle myself."

Something twisted in Sasuke's chest. He argued hotly, "Sakura, this isn't a simulation course where you can just hold up a hand and say you've had enough. Your interrogator will keep torturing you until you-"

"Then I'll kill myself before I give away anything."

Her emerald eyes were glazed with fury and pride, captivating Sasuke's crimson ones effortlessly.

- **I'll bring you back! **_and Naruto's cerulean blue eyes had flared _like Sakura's, just like hers _and Sasuke knew Naruto would do everything, possible and impossible_ -

And then he said instinctively, "You won't achieve anything by killing yourself. It'll only make Naruto more determined to come to Amegakure because he'll want-"

"He'll want revenge," she finished Sasuke's sentence for him.

Silence fell over the room.

He rose to his feet and went out onto the balcony, shutting the glass door behind him with more force than was necessary. Sakura flinched at the sound but watched him as he leaned over the side of the railing, uncaring of the rain pelting down on him, and felt an age old wound open again.

* * *

**Next Chapter Preview : then pride stopped her**

"_I'm not as kind as Sasuke."_

"I don't- _I won't-_"

"**You're not being strong, you're being stupid!"**

* * *

**Wait a minute! Can someone explain this please?**

**What happened to the last chapter with Suigetsu? Why'd you delete it?  
**I deleted it because quite frankly, it was shit. I hated it. Nothing happened there apart from Suigetsu cutting Sakura's hand open and Sasuke being jealous. I've been killing myself over it for a while, so I decided to rewrite it. Just pretend it never existed. : )

**Kisame? Is he on Sakura's side?  
**He's on Itachi's side. (hehe, that's a bit awkward, isn't it.) He has no opinion on anything, but I like to think he and Itachi got on well. Even if they weren't exactly friends, they were as close as they could be, and Kisame must have known how much Itachi cared about his younger brother and he feels obligated to do something about it.

**There's not much romance in this.  
**Not yet! It explodes halfway through (well, at least that's what I'm aiming for). Sasuke and Sakura are still really unsure of how to react to each other. Honestly, Sakura's the one who's holding them back- she's so scared of letting herself get close to him again. Sasuke's just as confused, but he's instinctively looking out for her.

**Hold up, this is a LOVE TRIANGLE?  
**I'm sorry! When I start writing, I don't really think about what I'm doing and everything turns into a love triangle. (urrgh, it was the same with Defining Duty. Stupid Deidara.) Yes, this story is a narusakusasu.

**Are Naruto and Sasuke going to meet?  
**Hell yeah. You know what Naruto's like, he's naïve and silly and is convinced if he works hard enough then he'll be able to bring Sasuke back. And, especially since Sakura's the main thing that connects them, it's inevitable that they'll start fighting.

**Sakura's really going to be tortured in the next chapter?  
**Yeah. I should probably go and research interrogation and torture tactics online, but I'm scared I'll get really upset by what I find. The next chapter shouldn't be too grotesque and awful, I'm saving the really upsetting things for the end of the first arc. I bet none of you will guess what's going to happen. : )

**Selandora (apologises for the really late update.)**


	4. the end doesn't always justify the means

"_You've a good heart. Sometimes that's enough to see you safe wherever you go. But mostly, it's not."  
- __Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman_

* * *

The atmosphere in Sasuke's room was frigid to the point that it was nearly unbearable. Sasuke was going out of his way to ignore Sakura and hadn't said a single word to her ever since their explosive argument the night before, he was clearly still angry. And Sakura didn't care if he was mad or not, she was ever angrier at him for being so immature.

Instead of looking at Sakura, Sasuke stared out of the rain-streaked balcony window, his crimson eyes emotionless and blank. A memory flashed in his mind-

- **it's a test, Sasuke-san **_and Zetsu's sickening amber eyes had bored through him, seeing nothing but an object and not a soul, then something had erupted painfully in his chest, something that clawed at his insides with acid tipped talons_-

The polite knock at the door made both of them start and look up, eyes dull and tired from a lack of sleep. Sasuke rose slowly to his feet and Sakura almost glanced at him instinctively, but forced herself to keep her gaze trained on the white, white door.

_Click_.

The noise echoed in Sakura's ears, instinctively causing her heartbeat to race at a hundred miles a minute. Sasuke's warning rang in her mind incessantly **nothing you've been taught** and she felt her hands begin to sweat as she **will prepare you for tomorrow **as she swallowed **nothing nothing nothing**-

"Sasuke-san. I've come for the girl."

* * *

The room was black and dark. Sakura couldn't see anything and had been sitting on the floor for so long, she had lost all perception of time. Silence filled every corner of the room, choking in its intensity, and it was beginning to drive her a little insane. Even the sound of her own voice wasn't enough to soothe her, she wanted to see where she was, she wanted to hear someone _anyone_, she needed-

___SCREEEEECH._

And then there was noise, a long endless screech that made her want to cover her ears and sink into the walls. She wanted that silence again, not this shrieking, screeching, because her mind was warping the noise into something more painful.

- _Naruto was screaming, screaming as the red _blood red_ chakra was ripped from his stomach _-

Her body curled in on itself and she gritted her teeth, grinding them so hard it felt like they were going to shatter. She tried to focus on something, anything, but the room was too dark and she couldn't even see her own body in front of her. The screaming went on and on, on and on, and she tensed every last muscle in her body in some attempt to escape the sound, her eyes squeezed shut.

Then the screeching stopped.

Her heavy breathing was the only thing that filled the silence of the room, in and out, in and out. She focussed on the sound of her inhales and exhales, forcing away all memory of the screeching, and her body relaxed. Sakura felt so tired, fatigued, and she let herself sag against the wall behind her, her eyes shut.

___SCREEEEECH._

The next day came and she was pulled from the darkness, away from the incessant screeching. The light had hurt her eyes and blinded her, she had barely processed where she was being dragged to. Sakura was exhausted and was barely able to recall any of the information she'd gathered on torture and interrogation, she hadn't slept all night because of the endless noise.

She was forced into a chair and she struggled against Zetsu as he pressed her down, but his fingernails dug into her flesh. Pain, so acute and fleeting, flooded through her entire body and it made her nerves spasm against their own will. Her back met the cold plastic of the chair she had fought not to sit in and her entire body went rigid. The chair had been laced with chakra that had rendered her immobile and it frustrated her, she could do nothing to fight back against him. In front of her sat a long table and she forced herself to look at it, nothing else.

Zetsu's voice was cold and emotionless. "Your name is Haruno Sakura."

"Didn't even need my help there," she quipped.

Hands like ice fisted in her hair and yanked it sharply, she felt her hair tear from her scalp painfully. She didn't flinch however and watched as Zetsu let the pink strands of hair fall from his mismatched black and white fingers.

A voice as rough as sandpaper emerged from Zetsu's throat, different from the one earlier. **"I'm not as kind as Sasuke. Don't talk back to me."**

"Fuck you, I'll do whatever I like," she snarled at him angrily.

Zetsu gripped her face this time, the pain erupting from wherever his fingers came into contact with her cheek. He was releasing harmful chakra from the pores of his skin and it attacked her nervous system. It felt like someone had stabbed metal pins into her body and passed an electric current through them, electrocuting her. She gritted her teeth as hard as she could, returning his amber gaze defiantly, and her entire body tensed. He let the pain last longer this time and she counted the seconds in her head, finding something else to distract her from the agony.

"Even at the age of fifteen, you're nothing but a chuunin," he told her, his words condescending.

She opened her mouth to speak, but his hand curled in her hair again and shook her sharply. The words died on her lips and he snarled, **"You're weak. By now, most people would already be jounin-class."**

She argued, "I'm a medic, of course I wouldn't have the time to take the jounin exams-"

He pressed his fingers against her skin again and the pain flooded through her, rendering her breathless.

"More than half of the jounin nowadays were upgraded without taking the examination. Even though you're praised for being the Godaime's apprentice, you haven't been upgraded to jounin. If you really were as good as everyone makes you out to be, you'd be jounin already," he pointed out ruthlessly.

"Do you think I care about something stupid like that?" she snapped angrily.

"You do."

His sickly golden eyes gleamed at her and he exuded superiority and arrogance. It made her angry just to look at him and Zetsu continued, "If you didn't, you wouldn't have spent the past three years training under the Godaime Hokage."

Sakura wanted to laugh at him. She hadn't been training to become a jounin, she had been training so that she wouldn't be left behind by her team mates anymore, so that she could protect people instead of being the one that was always protected. She hadn't done it to become one of the strongest in the village, she had done it to prove that she could look after herself and others. Zetsu didn't understand her at all.

Zetsu's voice became softer, gentler. "If you work with us to bring the jinchuuriki to Amegakure, we can help you become stronger. All you need to do is convince the jinchuuriki to come here."

"Good luck convincing him on your own," she snarled angrily.

* * *

The darkness that enclosed Sakura was broken by a small grating noise. A tiny flap in the door was pushed open and she could vaguely make out the outline of a tray being placed on the floor. She instinctively lunged towards the flap in a doomed to fail escape, but it shut before she could grab it and she let out a sigh of frustration, sinking to the ground.

Her hands groped around in the darkness and she made out the outline of a Styrofoam cup and a tiny bowl of rice. As she lifted the cup to her mouth-

"Fuck, don't drink it!" a voice that came from _inside_ the cup warned her and she dropped it in surprise, spilling the liquid inside all over the floor.

"What the hell?" she asked aloud, wondering if she was going insane already.

A hand grabbed her ankle from out of nowhere and she jerked, kicking out instinctively. There was a 'whoosh' as breath was forced to flee from a pair of lungs and a dry cough. She realised that the voice belonged to somebody male.

"Shit, you can kick."

"Who's there?"

The hand tightened around her ankle. "Shh, keep it down!"

"Who're you?"

"Sasuke's team mate. Suigetsu."

"Sasuke didn't send you here, did he?"

"Hell no."

"Then what're you doing here?"

"I was curious about you."

"How did you even get _in_ here?"

"That's a secret. Damn it, I wish there was some light in here-"

___SCREEEEECH._

"Fuck! What the hell was that noise?"

"It comes every now and again."

"Sakura, is it? I'd hate to be you."

"Gee, thanks."

"Why're you even in here?"

"You mean, you don't know why I'm here? Why you kidnapped me?"

"It's not like Sasuke tells us anything, being the asshole he is."

"I take it you don't like him either?"

"Can't stand the bastard, but I'm stuck with him."

"Why should I tell you?"

"I came all this way to say hi to you, you could be a _little_ grateful-"

___SCREEEEECH._

"-fuck, that's annoying."

"Well, if you helped me get out of here then we wouldn't have to live through it."

"No chance in hell. I'd be killed by all of Akatsuki and Sasuke, and I kind of like living."

"It was worth a shot."

"So, you going to tell me why you're here or what?"

"I don't really see why I should."

"Well, even if you tell me, it's not going to have any effect on you. You'd still be locked up in here, so there's really no harm in telling me."

"You say that like I should be happy."

"Of course you should be, it's not like I'm going to use the information against you or anything."

"Hooray for consolation."

___SCREEEEECH._

"…you're not going to tell me, are you?"

"Nope. Go ask Sasuke."

"Hmm, you're a bitch, but I like you."

* * *

The light that filled the room was blinding and Sakura instinctively threw her arm up as it pained her eyes. She was roughly yanked to her feet and the arm was torn away from her eyes, she realised belatedly that Zetsu was the one manhandling her.

Sakura lashed out at him with her free arm and it hit Zetsu in the shoulder, however the man didn't flinch at all. He grabbed her arm and twisted it painfully behind her back to stop her from attacking him, but then she ground her heels into the floor, refusing to move. She was going to do everything she could to make his life as difficult as possible and Zetsu slammed his shin into the back of Sakura's knees. They buckled on instinct and she fell forwards.

He all but dragged Sakura into the interrogation room and hurled her into the chair, it teetered on its legs as though it were going to topple over from the force. She felt her entire body go rigid and struggled feebly against the binding chakra, feeling helpless and frustrated as she found she could no longer move.

"I haven't changed my mind about anything," Sakura snarled viciously at Zetsu.

He knelt down at Sakura's side, right beside the arm rest. His expression was blank and his eyes were cold as he raised his jet black hand, placing it over hers. She returned his gaze, challenging him, and out of the corner of her eye she saw his fingers move.

_Crack._

He bent her thumb backwards suddenly and it snapped with a loud, sickening crack. She inhaled sharply through her nose instinctively. Zetsu said nothing but then his hand moved onto the next finger, her index finger, and his unmoving gaze remained on hers.

_Crack_.

Sakura said nothing, but chanted in her head _you've only got ten fingers, you've only got ten fingers, you've only got_-

"Are you sure about that?" he asked her coolly.

_Crack_.

Taking a deep breath in, she mentally prepared herself for the next round of pain. "I'm pretty sure, asshole."

_Cracracrack-_

White hot pain laced through Sakura, dizzying her with the intensity of it as he bent back all of her fingers, breaking the ones that weren't already destroyed and aggravating the ones that were. She gritted her teeth, she was in so much pain that she couldn't bring herself to make any noise. She tried to distract herself from the pain as she thought of bright blue eyes and golden hair, a grin so wide it could swallow the world, a voice so loud that it could drown out everything and anything.

His voice was smug as he asked, "**Not so talkative anymore, are you?**"

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but then he slammed his fist down on her hand as hard as he could. Agony burst within her and stole the words from her lips, but she endured the pain. _For Naruto, for Konoha, for Naruto, for Konoha-_

"You're pathetic," he told her.

He lifted her two thumbs and she felt all the bone shards shift against one another, grating against nerve endings. Slowly, he began to rotate them and she forced herself to keep on staring at the table in front of her. Her breath came out in a sharp hiss before she could help it and her vision blurred, it felt like he was carving symbols into her hand with a poisoned knife.

"You're here enduring all this torture for the jinchuuriki, but he hasn't even once tried to come and save you."

* * *

_Crack. Crack._

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm resetting my fingers."

"Oh, so Zetsu's broken them already?"

_Crack. Crack-_

"Don't you have other things to do? Villages to burn, babies to mutilate-"

"Yeesh, you're not in a good mood today."

"I wonder why."

"Sasuke's not back yet, so I've got nothing else to do but hang out with you."

_Crack._

"Sasuke's not here?"

"Nope, he was sent out on a mission a couple of days ago. The rest of Team Hawk only takes orders from Sasuke, so we're stuck doing nothing in the mean time. What is your connection to Sasuke, anyways? You two don't exactly seem like strangers."

_Crack._

"We used to be team mates."

"Hm, really? He hasn't mentioned you before."

"I'd be surprised if he had."

"Ah, were you two dating?"

_Crack._

"Fuck you."

"Oops, didn't realise that was a sensitive topic. Must've been a pretty bad break up then-"

"There was _nothing_ to break up."

_Crack._

"Urgh, that crack sounded painful."

"Just go crawl back into that stupid cup, Suigetsu."

"Oh, you've worked out my jutsu then?"

"You can break down your body into water particles, right? You just hide yourself in my cup as water so that Zetsu carries you in here whenever I have to eat."

"Hmm, smart girl. By the way, Sasuke comes back tomorrow."

_Crack._

"What makes you think I care about Sasuke?"

"Don't you?"

_Crack._

"I don't."

"My mistake then."

* * *

When Zetsu dragged her into the interrogation room again, Sakura froze momentarily at the sight on the table. Zetsu used her shock to his advantage and slammed her down into the restricting chair before she could fight back, she was already incapacitated before she could protest.

Before her on the long table lay a spread eagled, naked girl. She looked about Sakura's age and she had been bound to each of the table legs, her body stretched painfully. Zetsu walked over to the girl's head and ran his fingers through the dark brown strands there, mocking a lover's caress, and the girl moaned in pain.

Sakura shouted at him, her anger getting the best of her, "You bastard, what the fuck do you-"

Zetsu pulled sharply on the girl's long hair and she let out a terrified, ear splitting scream. It made Sakura flinch and she snarled, "Stop it! She has nothing to do with this!"

A chalk white hand pressed against the girl's hollow stomach, Zetsu never once let his yellow eyes leave Sakura's. The girl had begun to sob, knowing what was coming next, and Sakura felt frustration flood through her, she wanted to help her-

"Accept our offer and the girl will live," he deadpanned.

Sakura hesitated, unable to say anything, _she couldn't, she couldn't _and Zetsu pushed his hand down, chakra glowing at his fingertips. The girl threw her head back and began to writhe, screaming, screaming, _screaming_-

- _and for a moment, Sakura imagined Naruto in her place _**not Naruto, not Naruto **-

Sakura couldn't say anything.

Zetsu unbound the cord that held the girl's left arm and Sakura realised with a jolt that her hands were already broken. She had already been subject to torture and Sakura could do nothing but watch as Zetsu opened his mouth, slipping the girl's fingers inside.

No, _no,_ he wasn't-

There was a loud sickening crunch.

The girl was screaming and the blood dripped onto the white linoleum floor, marring it crimson, and Sakura felt like her world was toppling around her. She squeezed her eyes shut and heard the girl screaming, "_Please!_ Please, make it stop- _no more!_"

Zetsu's voice was cold and unaffected. "Accept our offer."

There was another crunch and another scream, Sakura's entire body convulsed as though she were the one being tortured-

Sakura blurted, "I don't- I _won't-"_

"_Please! _Please, just say yes-"

A scream cut off the girl's begging and Sakura's eyes flashed open for a second, but a second was more than enough time to witness torture at its worst. His golden eyes locked onto Sakura's emotionlessly, he was completely oblivious to the girl's screaming and pleading, and Sakura could see the blood smeared around his mismatched lips, the bone shards jutting from mangled flesh, the-

Zetsu's voice was cold. "If you accept now, I will end this here and the girl will go free. If you don't, I will continue until nothing is left of her."

And the girl's voice became hysterical and she sobbed, her chest rising and falling erratically. Sakura wanted to stand up and scream, to give in and let this girl live- but giving in had consequences that would affect hundreds of thousands of people. If Akatsuki got their hands on Naruto, on the _Kyuubi_, more people would die, more people would be tortured and it would be at least partially Sakura's fault.

This wasn't just about three people in a whitewashed torture chamber. This wasn't just about a girl too young to die and another girl who was too compassionate. This was about the entire world, about Konoha, about Ame, about Akatsuki-

It was the single most difficult thing Sakura had ever done and she could feel the tears burning at the corners of her eyes. She met the terrified gaze of the girl and forced herself to look at her, to remember her forever and ever and ever.

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered, the words ripping all the strength from her.

There was a silence in which nobody said anything. Sakura was so close to breaking and wanted nothing more than to look away, but she couldn't. She held eye contact with the girl, through everything, and read the hatred in her eyes and the unending fear.

Then Zetsu slipped the girl's stump of a wrist into his mouth again.

* * *

_SCREEEEECH._

Silence.

_SCREEEEECH._

Silence.

_SCREEEEECH._

"**Fuck!**_"_

"I'm kind of surprised you've lasted this long."

"Fuck you, Suigetsu!"

"Well, for what it's worth, Zetsu would have killed her anyways."

"You don't _understand_. I'm a medic, I could have saved her life but I didn't. I'm meant to save lives, she was begging me for help but I didn't say anything and he fucking ate her alive, he-"

"You-"

___SCREEEEECH._

"God damn it, that noise!"

"Sakura-"

"Fuck you, just leave me alone!"

_SCREEEEECH._

"Sakura, Sasuke wanted me to tell you something."

Silence.

_SCREEEEECH._

"He says that Naruto's still in Konoha."

Quiet, muffled sobbing began.

* * *

Sakura still fought and struggled with Zetsu as he wrestled her to the interrogation room, but her body was so tired and all she wanted to do was sleep. She had gone without sleep for too long and it was destroying her, ruining her. Zetsu forced her into the chakra chair again without as much trouble as before and she found herself sitting opposite Sasuke.

Her voice was hoarse. "Sasuke?"

His face was expressionless and he seemed barely affected by her presence, she might not have been sitting there at all. Zetsu rifled for something in his robes and withdrew a long syringe and needle. Sakura's eyes flickered to it and she noted that it contained a colourless substance, but it could be anything at all. Sasuke kept his eyes on Sakura as Zetsu approached her.

She snarled, "Don't touch me, you-"

All the words in the world meant nothing to Zetsu. He was unmoved by her protests and stabbed her mercilessly in the arm with the needle, injecting her with the substance.

Zetsu told her, "I've injected poison into you. It will kill you in four minutes. If you agree to help us, then I will give you the antidote."

Zetsu put another syringe that held the antidote on the table in front of Sakura and she stared at the glass contraption, as though she didn't quite believe it. She had always thought her last hope would look a little more glamorous, a little more impressive-

All the insults and screaming in the world would do nothing against Zetsu, she couldn't move a single muscle. The chemical he had injected into her began to flow through her bloodstream, but it seemed to be taking no effect. Sasuke watched her calmly, his crimson eyes burning into her emerald ones.

Then the pain began.

It was barely noticeable at first, like a pinprick. It gradually built up and it was manageable for a while, but then suddenly it flooded through her, slamming itself against every nerve ending in her body. Her body convulsed and her eyes rolled back as she focused on the ceiling, her mouth parting as she fought to breathe.

Coldly, Zetsu informed her, "Two minutes have passed already, Sakura. You have two more minutes before you die."

She blinked and her eyes shut for a little longer this time, she forced herself to open them and brought her head up.

Her gaze met Sasuke's.

- **you won't achieve anything by killing yourself **_and his words had struck her harder than any blow ever would, but she would never kill Naruto_ -

"I'd rather die than help you kill Naruto," she snarled viciously.

Zetsu watched her in silence.

Sakura convulsed again, her muscles bulging against the chakra restraints. Icy cold sweat trickled down her burning skin, but she was beyond caring. Her lungs were giving in on her and her breaths were coming noisily now, in and out, in and out, in and out, in and out-

"Zetsu, stop this," Sasuke spoke finally.

Zetsu said nothing as the poison continued killing her, as her lips turned purple and her face grew pale-

"Zetsu, _enough_," he repeated himself, louder this time.

His blood red eyes met Sakura's emerald ones, and he knew without a doubt that she was planning on dying. Her eyes were filled with acceptance and it angered him, she was throwing away her life for something so stupid and _why didn't she just give up-?_

"You have ten more seconds," Zetsu stated.

_Ten_

_Nine_

_Eight_

_Seven_

Sakura was forming words now, her eyes never leaving Sasuke's as she trembled uncontrollably-

**Help Naruto**

Sasuke's chair shrieked on the linoleum and he snatched up the syringe, but Zetsu gripped his wrist, rendering it immobile. He threw Zetsu away from him, his hand clenched around the syringe and he stabbed it into Sakura's arm, desperate to administer it in time. She threw her head back and he gripped her other arm tightly, forcing the antidote into her body.

Her eyes were wide with surprise and he pulled the syringe out of her body, letting it drop to the ground beside her. It shattered against the pristine white linoleum floor, reflecting warped images of a broken saviour and a corpse white figure. He flipped a switch on the back of the chair and Sakura could move again, but she was much too weak now. Zetsu was rising to his feet just as Sasuke was lifting Sakura into his arms and he opened his mouth to speak.

Sasuke interrupted him sharply, "You almost let our only hostage die. We still need her to lure out Naruto."

Zetsu said coolly, "You have no right to interfere with my torture methods, Sasuke."

"Don't touch her again."

Zetsu began, "Sasu-"

The door to the interrogation room shut with a slam behind them and Sakura was so tired. After more than a week of torture, she was exhausted and she just wanted to sleep, to go to sleep and not wake up for a very long time. Maybe she'd wake up and find that she had just been dreaming, that all of this wasn't real…Her body was still incredibly tense in his arms, she couldn't relax anymore, and her head was throbbing from the poison. She felt so sick, so dead, and Sasuke said nothing.

Her voice was fatigued and filled with a mix of emotions. "You didn't have to save me. I didn't _need_ you to save me-"

"You weren't being strong back there, Sakura. You were being stupid," he told her coldly.

"You bastard," she told him, but there was no venom behind her words.

Her hand slowly, gradually fisted in the fabric of his white shirt and she turned her head into his bare chest, her breaths coming shorter. She didn't want him to see her like this. The weight of everything pressed down on her all at once and she closed her eyes. It was all too much.

"You bastard," she repeated again, her voice choked in her throat. "You bastard…"

* * *

**Next chapter preview: bridges that burn**

"We have no choice. We have to bring Sakura with us on the mission in Grass Country."

"_Hatake, you and your team will be escorting Tazuna to Grass Country."_

"**Sasuke, don't- **_**Kakashi-sensei**_**!"**

* * *

**Does Sasuke really think Sakura is useless?  
**He still thinks she needs defending, definitely. And he also thinks she's always getting in the way. I wouldn't go as far as to say useless though.

**Oh my God. That was kind of disturbing.  
**Um. Well, I think it's worse to write. I'm really getting in touch with my twisted side for this story, I'm not sure I like it. : S Hopefully the torture chapter lived up to expectations, I was really nervous about it.

**Kakashi? In the next chapter?  
**YEAAAAAH. He's there. And so are Team Hawk and Sakura. (This can't be good.)

**These relationships are developing really quickly. What the heck?  
**Urgh, relationship progression is really killing me. I think it's more my characterisation of Sasuke that's really messing it up, he's a tough cookie to write. He's meaner than my version of Itachi but also really immature and stubborn and- gah. I'm really sorry, I'm trying my best to progress as slowly as possible but my fingers tend to run away on the keyboard.

**What does Sakura really think of Sasuke?  
**Um, well, from experience I think that when you like someone, you're always attracted to them a little bit no matter what. I think Sakura would still have a little bit of a thing for him and she does her best to deny it, because she really does hate him as well. It's a funny relationship.

**Why did Sasuke freak out about Zetsu in the last chapter?  
**As you can see, he had more than enough reason to freak out from his torture methods. I'm not sure if I made this obvious, but Sasuke _has_ been tortured by Zetsu before and he knows what it's like. He still underestimates Sakura and he, Naruto and Kakashi used to protect her in Team 7 (gah, the number of times they saved her ass before the time skip is pitiful), so he still sees her as that naïve little girl who needs protecting. Deep down, I think he would still feel obligated to protect her.

**Naruto? Where's Naruto? What happened to Naruto? Where the hell's Naruto-  
**Ahh, calm down. He's not going to come in for a little while. I'm going to screw with Sakura's head first.

**You read Ripples by Yellow Mask?  
**OH MY GOD YES. THAT SHIT IS AMAZING. I worship Yellow Mask. I actually started ripples a long time ago but then I lost the link and forgot the title. I was really upset and then I really have whenifallxx to thank for reuniting me with it. I finished it in two days and I have a strong urge to reread it. It's so crazy. It's CRAZY. It's epic. I can't do it justice here, I am just so in love with it. If it was a man, I'd rape it. Repeatedly. Oh my God. I'm reading so much fanfiction nowadays, I've been introduced to and have found so many crazy amazing ones. I'm so happy. 2009 is a good year for fanfiction.

* * *

Every time you **review**, an author smiles.

Make an author smile today.

Please **review**.

(Gee, I'm too lame. Please **review**!)


	5. clothes hold too much meaning

"_Your village has become complacent. You failed to teach these brats the most important lesson of all- to kill the kindness in their heart."  
- __Zabuza_

* * *

Sasuke had known the moment Sakura had woken up, but that was only because he had seen her swollen fingers twitch involuntarily. He had been up for the past two hours- she had been awake for half of one.

Sakura didn't want to open her eyes and face Sasuke. She had been humiliated in almost every possible way by Zetsu, and then humiliated even further because Sasuke (of all people) had saved her from certain death. That brought up baggage heavy enough to sink a ship. The weight of all of her torture was dragging her down into the depths of depression and she wanted for once to curl up and try to forget about everything.

She was running away from her problems and, gritting her teeth, she realised she was becoming the very last thing she wanted to be. _Weak. _She didn't want Sasuke of all people to see her like this, but it was difficult to suppress and her emotions were getting the best of her as usual. With grim determination, she finally opened her eyes and squinted as the light ambushed her exhausted gaze.

Sasuke was a dark silhouette against the sunlight, stark black against white. Her mind was roiling with memories of her time with Zetsu and she was too preoccupied with her thoughts to realise she was staring at him, her eyes tracing the edges of his tense shoulders and curved spine.

As she straightened, the navy bed sheets that looked black in the rain-spoiled sun rustled and Sasuke turned his head to the side, meeting her gaze in the corner of his crimson eye. His face was revealed to her, the light glowing on his pale skin, and she began to understand why Naruto would do anything to save him-

Something had changed in the dynamic of their troubled relationship and both of them had realised it, but neither wanted to acknowledge it. There were other things more important (_Naruto_**revenge**), but Sakura was beginning to think that maybe she had been wrong all along. Maybe Naruto was right, maybe the old Sasuke was still there somewhere underneath the years and years of hardship- why else would he have saved her? If Sasuke really had changed and didn't think of them as friends, he would have left her to die. He wouldn't have fought against a fellow Akatsuki member to save her if he didn't still care for her and still had Konoha's ideals firmly rooted in his mind.

But then again, maybe he really just didn't want to lose a valuable hostage.

- **don't! **_and his crimson eyes had spun viciously like furious whirlpools and his arms were warm and tight around her exhausted body but if saving her had really been impersonal,_ why did he look like that? -

_Why did you save me, Sasuke?_

The question pulled at the edges of her conscience, begging to be asked. But the words stuck in her throat and she couldn't – _wouldn't_ – ask him because she had her pride as a woman. She wasn't a damsel in distress and he wasn't her knight in shining armour (_though there was a time that she once wished that was so)._

Sasuke rose to his feet and Sakura pulled the sheets around her petite frame protectively, staring at the dark clothing laid out on the coffee table in front of her. Her brow furrowed ever so slightly and he turned to her.

"Get changed. We're leaving for Grass in half an hour," Sasuke ordered her.

_-_

The wind screamed as it rushed up the side of the building, curling around them and entrapping them. Sakura's face went an unearthly shade of white and her hands tightened around her sheets as memories, memories, _memories_ flooded through her mind-

- **PLEASE **_and there was so much screaming and so much blood, and it was all because of Sakura, all her fault _-

Sasuke's voice cut through her flashbacks effortlessly. "Sakura."

"I don't have any clothes," she said instinctively, her mind unfocused and disoriented.

He raised an eyebrow at her and then pointed at the pile of clothes that she had been looking at less than fifteen seconds ago. Sakura jolted in realisation and shook her head, trying to clear it, but it was difficult to think and concentrate on anything.

She asked, "You're giving me your clothes?"

"You don't have any other clothes, do you?" he bit back defensively, as though giving her clothes was something to be ashamed of.

"That's because _you _burned all of them along with my storage scroll," she argued.

"If you hadn't tried to escape, I wouldn't have had to burn them," he pointed out.

She picked up the navy blue shirt and it unfurled itself, revealing the Uchiha crest. She started when she realised it was Sasuke's shirt he had worn religiously while they had been in Team 7 and she glared at him.

"You bastard," she snarled at him.

"What?"

Sakura ground out firmly, "I'm not wearing that."

"Stop being so difficult," he snapped at her.

Angrily, she threw the shirt at him as hard as she could and he caught it quickly, looking down at it. It was only then that he realised it was his shirt from his Konoha days- but he really hadn't noticed it when he'd taken it. He'd just picked up the first thing in his drawer. However, he wasn't going to go back and change the shirt for her. He set it down on the table.

He stated, "It's that or you wear those clothes for the rest of the journey to Grass."

"Fine then, I will," she snarled, rising to her feet and making her way to the bathroom.

Raising his voice slightly, he called after her, "Don't be ridiculous, you've been wearing the same clothes for more than a week-"

She slammed the bathroom door behind her and he ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. Had she ever been this stubborn before? He didn't think so, but she had become annoying in a completely different way. He heard the lock grate in the doorknob as she turned it. He knocked on the door sharply as the shower began to run.

"Sakura, open the door," he ordered her.

There was no reply from the other side.

"Sakura."

Then an unexpected thought arose in his mind. _What if she's trying to escape? _

There was a window in the bathroom and a ledge on the side of the building that led to the compound lobby. Maybe she was running the shower to hide the sound of her opening the window? It was one of the stupid things he wouldn't put past her and, gritting his teeth in frustration, he pulled a senbon from his kunai pouch. Sliding it into the keyhole, he began to pick the lock and there was a rewarding click as he succeeded.

Slowly, quietly, he opened the door and steam rolled out of the doorway, obscuring his vision. Then it cleared.

Sakura's back was pressed against the glass door of the shower and she had curled herself tightly into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest. She looked so small and so vulnerable, he couldn't believe this was the same person who had challenged him so angrily a few moments ago. He realised with a jolt that he was seeing underneath her tough exterior, but he couldn't bring himself to feel at all smug about it. This was too raw and too personal.

As though she was drained of all energy, she dragged her head upwards and met his crimson gaze. Her expression said everything she would never let herself say. Her features were a canvas of emotions and even though there were thousands, each was clandestine clear in the swirling fluorescent light. Indecision, sorrow, regret, self hatred- the list rolled on and on like steam from the silence-shattering shower.

It was as though she had stolen his ability to speak with a single look and even if he could, everything else suddenly seemed stupid and insignificant.

- **I'm just tired, Sasuke **_and Itachi's eyes were exhausted and pained _just like Sakura's _and Sasuke didn't understand his struggle until it was far too late _-

Before he could help it, his hands moved on their own and he had taken off his high necked grey shirt. He silently placed it on the side of the counter and left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

"How long more will it take us to get to Grass?" Tazuna grumbled, fidgeting with the edge of his straw hat.

"Well, since we've been travelling for a day, it should only take us another day to get there. That is, of course, providing we don't run into any unexpected surprises," Kakashi replied.

His smile was so blindingly fake that it made Tazuna wince guiltily and avert his eyes from him. Tazuna pushed his round circular glasses further up his nose and defended himself, "I wasn't the one who hired you guys this time, so you can't blame me this time if the mission ranking is the wrong one."

"I would never do such a thing," Kakashi replied easily, his fake smile still fixed in place.

"Are you a very good bridge maker then, Tazuna-san?" Ino asked him and Tazuna silently thanked her for changing the subject.

Tazuna shrugged, rubbing at his sweaty face. He explained, "I don't really think so. It came as a shock when Grass requested me to make a bridge in their capital for them."

"It's a sign of goodwill between Grass and Mist. They want to improve relations with one another," Shikamaru told Ino.

"Aa, that's probably it," Kakashi agreed.

Huffily, Tazuna interjected, "Or it could just be because I'm a good bridge maker."

Kakashi smiled at him. "Of course, Tazuna-san."

_Is he making fun of me? _Tazuna wondered.

"Where are the brats from before?" Tazuna asked Kakashi.

"Oh, you mean my old team? Hm…Naruto and Sakura are all out on missions and Sasuke doesn't really work for Konoha anymore," Kakashi answered evasively.

In complete surprise, Tazuna demanded, "Doesn't work for Konoha? What do you mean?"

Ino felt tension prickling in the air and glanced at Kakashi, worried about his reaction. She exchanged a look with Shikamaru who looked slightly concerned, but Kakashi simply shrugged.

"He left the village," Kakashi stated. His tone of voice was firm and final- Tazuna had clearly struck a nerve and he wasn't willing to say anymore on the subject.

They retired for the night in a roadside inn and Tazuna, exhausted from the journey, went immediately to his room and collapsed onto his bed. The roof of the inn was flat and Kakashi instinctively made his way up there, wanting to find some place to be alone. He was uncomfortable with his team (_because they were the wrong one, after all_) and he pushed the rusty metal door open.

It shrieked against the stone floor and he winced slightly, the noise jarring his ears. When it was finally open, he was met with Shikamaru's inquisitive chocolate gaze. The lazy chuunin slowly released a controlled jet of smoke and it swirled in the moonlight, curling upwards like one of Sai's perfect ink creations.

Knowing that it was far too late for Kakashi to turn back, he resigned to the fact that he would have to make conversation with Shikamaru. With a small smile and a wave of his gloved hand, he greeted Shikamaru, "Yo."

"Hmm…you couldn't sleep?" Shikamaru asked.

Kakashi shrugged and made his way over to Shikamaru, sitting beside him on the floor with his knees bent. "Aa. Something like that."

"That sounds troublesome," Shikamaru mused before taking a deep drag from his cigarette.

Silence heavy with the weight of contemplation fell between them. Kakashi found himself observing Shikamaru. He wasn't annoying and loud, like Naruto or Sakura. He was mature, unlike Sasuke, and he wasn't at all awkward, like Sai.

Kakashi felt his mood begin to dampen and he pulled at his navy blue mask in irritation, trying to distract himself. It was only then that Shikamaru spoke, "I don't like this mission."

In a forcibly light tone, Kakashi replied, "Escort missions are always boring."

"You know that's not what I mean, Hatake-san," Shikamaru stated, glancing at him sideways.

With a loud sigh, Kakashi leaned against the wall behind him and stretched out his long legs, staring at his toes for a couple of moments. Then he asked, "Well, what exactly do you think is wrong?"

Shikamaru was taken aback by his answer and frowned at his cigarette, not meeting Kakashi's gaze. Slowly, he began, "The mission price is way too high for a B ranked mission. It's more than eight times the price of a regular A ranked mission and Grass themselves are paying for it- Grass is known to be really stingy with their cash."

Kakashi said nothing in response and Shikamaru took this as his cue to continue, "Grass wouldn't have paid so much unless they wanted to make sure Tazuna-san had the best protection and they requested that this mission remain confidential. That means they don't want anyone to know about Tazuna-san."

"And why do you think that is?" Kakashi questioned, looking at Shikamaru.

"It's troublesome, but I think it's because they're scared someone will try to assassinate Tazuna-san if they find out he's being hired to build the bridge in Grass. I know a lot of Mist-nin are against the alliance, so there's a high chance we'll be attacked by them," Shikamaru explained.

There was a short pause.

"Wow, I never thought of that," Kakashi said with a fake smile.

With a small, raspy laugh, Shikamaru told him, "Don't lie, Hatake-san. It's troublesome."

"Me? Lie? Never. But, now that you've enlightened me, I think you're right," Kakashi agreed with him. "Have you told Yamanaka-san?"

"No. She'll just worry if I tell her," Shikamaru explained.

"Aa, so she's like Sakura then," Kakashi commented, his fake smile morphing into something smaller and more genuine.

Shikamaru dropped his cigarette on the floor and then met Kakashi's gaze. "About Sakura. Where is she?"

"On a mission," Kakashi replied easily.

His brown eyes flashed.

"I told you already not to lie, Hatake-san."

_-_

A high pitched scream rang throughout the still night air and it made all the hairs on Kakashi's neck stand on end. He winced at the sound and Shikamaru was immediately tense.

His hands clenched tightly. "That was Ino."

Without another word, both of them were off. Kakashi sprinted towards the stairwell whereas Shikamaru ran down the side of the building vertically, trying to pinpoint Tazuna's room. The sound of ripping rice paper and the clash of weapons met his ears and he felt his heart race, hearing it beat erratically in his ears. Was Ino hurt? She must have been to scream so loudly and what if she was dying now, what if he couldn't get to her in time-

Shikamaru forced open Tazuna's window and was met with the sight of Ino trying desperately to defend Tazuna against a team of eight other ninja. Four were dead already and she met his gaze.

"It took you long enough, you lazy bum!" she shouted at him angrily.

Launching himself from the window, his outstretched legs caught a ninja in the chin and knocked him unconscious. He asked in disbelief, "You're not hurt?"

"Of course not! You think these genin would really be a problem?" she said, feeling insulted.

"You were screaming like you were dying," he muttered, taking down a ninja to his right.

She performed a roundhouse kick that threw a man two metres away and then turned to him for a split second, her sapphire eyes irritated. "Well, how else was I meant to get your attention?"

With a sigh, Shikamaru drawled, "You're so troublesome, woman."

"Can you two stop arguing and focus on these ninja?" Tazuna demanded.

"Shut up, old man!" she snapped back at him as she slashed someone mercilessly across the chest. Tazuna went an unearthly shade of white and was immediately silent.

Half of the ninja fled suddenly and the rest lay incapacitated on the floor. Ino swore and tried to run after the escaped ninjas, but Shikamaru held her back. It was only then that Kakashi appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He waved a hand at them and Ino demanded angrily, "Where the hell were you?"

"Sorry. I got lost," he said apologetically.

If Tazuna hadn't known any better, he would have seriously doubted that Kakashi was an elite ninja. As it was, he did know better, but his knowledge was being severely tested. Shikamaru slid his hands into his pockets and sighed, glancing at all the ninjas on the ground.

"They're Mist-nin," Shikamaru stated, the candlelight glowing on an engraved Mist headband.

"Mist-nin? From my own country?" Tazuna asked, his shocked voice barely a whisper.

Kakashi looked contemplatively at the ninjas lying on the floor, before glancing up at Tazuna. "You always seem to anger all the wrong people, don't you, Tazuna-san?"

* * *

"The hostage is slowing us down. We should have just left her behind," Karin complained.

Sakura bristled at Karin's insult and gritted her teeth, forcing down her angry retort. Unbeknownst to Sasuke and the others, she was slowly storing up her chakra and nearly had enough to put up a good fight. She was hiding it however with a careful chakra block, Sasuke hadn't noticed she was spitting out the pills that would seal her chakra. Sakura was determined to save as much energy as possible for travelling- she couldn't waste it on this annoying bitch-

Suigetsu muttered darkly under his breath, "Why didn't we just leave _you_ behind?"

Sakura stifled a laugh at that and he noticed her amused smile out of the corner of his lilac eyes. He grinned at her, his white teeth gleaming in the light, and Karin rounded on him. She hissed at him, "I heard that!"

"So what? It's the truth," he retorted sharply.

"Suigetsu, I don't think you should wind up Karin," Juugo said doubtfully, his expression genuine and concerned.

Suigetsu ignored him and instead egged Karin on, "I'm sure _Sasuke-kun _would rather travel with Sakura instead of you. Wouldn't you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke said nothing.

Karin frowned and said, "He's only travelling with her because it's his duty-"

"If you guys don't shut up, I'll leave you all behind," Sasuke stated.

"Please do," Sakura piped up.

"Hey, are you really going to let her talk to you like that?" Suigetsu egged on Sasuke, flashing an unsympathetic toothy grin at Sakura. She raised an eyebrow, he changed alliances like it was nobody's business.

"It's not worth my time to bother trying to correct her behaviour," Sasuke said dryly.

Then suddenly, Karin fell very still and quiet.

"Five, approaching fast from the west," she announced.

With a grin, Suigetsu unsheathed his katana and held it out in front of him. "Let's take care off this quickly."

"No fighting," Sasuke ground out sharply.

His face faulted. "What?"

"Take off your cloaks," Sasuke ordered all of them.

Karin said urgently, "We don't have time. They're here-"

Something onyx blurred before Sakura's eyes and there was an unmistakable chink of metal as Sasuke deflected a kunai away from her. She felt all the fine hairs on the back of her neck prickle – _when had he moved? _– and he didn't once turn to look at her.

"Suigetsu. Guard Sakura," he ordered him in a sharp tone.

Suigetsu snapped, "No way, we haven't had a proper fight in ages."

"You're useless with a katana," Sasuke stated, shifting to cover Sakura.

Angrily, Suigetsu snarled, "Well, whose fault is it that I have to use this stupid katana?"

"Suigetsu, just go!" Karin shouted at him, her voice overpowering the clashes of battle.

"Fuck you!" Suigetsu shouted at her, storming over to Sakura and holding his katana out in front of him.

Sasuke seemed to flash before Sakura's emerald gaze and she strained her eyes to watch him move, darting from left to right. Juugo seemed hesitant in all his attacks, for the most part he seemed to be avoiding direct confrontation and Suigetsu watched resentfully as Karin smashed the stiletto of her heel into a man's chest.

"Get out of the way," Sasuke called to Karin and Juugo, who obediently shot away.

His fingers flashed through jutsu signs that Sakura knew only too well and she felt a stab of remembrance as he shouted, _"Katon! Goukakyuu no jutsu!"_

Curling tendrils of flame engulfed the area in front of them and Sakura gritted her teeth, watching angrily as the fire consumed the trees and the screaming ninja. Karin had managed to save one of the Mist ninja and yanked him forwards by the scruff of his collar roughly.

"Sasuke-kun. I saved one for you," Karin said, pushing the ninja forwards with her foot.

Sakura hated the condescending way Karin treated her enemy, like he was dirt under her shoe. He had fought and deserved respect for that, she was treating him like he wasn't even human anymore. It angered Sakura- she worshipped Konoha values more than anything else in the world. Suigetsu seemed unaffected by Karin's treatment of the ninja and as Sakura looked at Sasuke, she noticed with an involuntary jerk that he was looking at her with intense crimson eyes.

_Shhhhiiink_

Sasuke drew his katana slowly and deliberately, it glinted malevolently in what little light spilled through the dark forest canopy. He pointed it at the ninja, who was a boy of barely twelve years old, and let the tip of the blade linger beneath his pale chin.

"What are you doing in Grass territory?" Sasuke demanded in his smooth as velvet voice.

The boy's chin wobbled for a split second, but then a change overcame him as he straightened and puffed out his chest. His green eyes shone as he challenged Sasuke, "What are _you _doing in Grass territory?"

Karin snarled, "If you know what's good for you, you'll pay Sasuke-kun more respect, brat."

"Piss off, you hag! I'm called Koharu, not brat!" he snapped angrily at her.

Sasuke lifted his katana ever so slightly, forcing the Koharu's head up at an awkward, painful angle. He hissed as the blade caught his skin and a rivulet of blood trickled down his neck, bleeding into the grey fabric of his shirt and spreading like a sickness. His eyes darted around and then he met Sakura's gaze.

She felt her world stop as she stared into his forest green eyes.

- _and for a moment, she had thought this boy was her _Naruto -

Sasuke's eyes flashed dangerously. "I will only say this one more time. What is your mission in Grass?"

And then Sakura made her decision.

She called upon the stores of chakra she had been saving up for days and days and moulded it to her feet. Her figure blurred and Suigetsu instinctively tried to snatch at her, but was too late, she was already out of his reaching distance. Sasuke's hand flashed out to block Sakura, but he misjudged the distance and missed. Sakura's shocked gaze met his for a split second – _he should never have missed that_ – but then she grabbed Koharu and slammed her hand down, causing the earth to rumble and crack.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Sakura darted south towards the border between Konoha and Grass. Her still broken hands were throbbing with pain, she shouldn't have put so much stress on them, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice. It would take two days for her to reach Konoha and she was going to run out of chakra soon- they wouldn't be able to make it there together.

"What the hell are you doing, lady?" Koharu shouted in complete surprise.

Sakura snapped at him, "I'm saving your ass. Now shut up and run!"

"Weren't those your friends? Why're you helping me?" he asked in complete disbelief.

"They're not my friends, I was kidnapped by them," Sakura answered quickly.

It wouldn't be long before Sasuke caught up to them. She knew his speed- they didn't have much time. She stopped suddenly, her chest rising heavily and he stared at her.

"Are you a Konoha ninja?" he asked in bemusement. "Was that your team earlier then? In the inn?"

"There's a Konoha team here?" she demanded in surprise, feeling hope prickle inside of her.

"Yeah, copy-nin Hatake Kakashi was there-"

The sounds of shouting cut him short and Sakura could clearly make out Karin's shrill voice.

Her words came in a rush, "Go to Konoha. Go there and tell the Hokage that Sakura sent you and tell Naruto-"

Then, her heart constricted sharply as though it were protesting. It was so difficult to find the strength to tell the boy what she needed to say, what Naruto needed to know, because she needed Naruto to stay away but _she wanted to see him so much_-

She was suddenly aware of Sasuke's chakra.

"-tell Naruto to stay in Konoha no matter what happens," she finished.

Koharu noticed that she was on the verge of tears and hesitated, taking a step towards her. He was too much like Naruto, more concerned for other people than himself, and Sakura couldn't bear to see him anymore.

"**Go!**" she screamed at him, raising her arm.

He was gone as fast as his feet would let him- not fast enough. Sakura summoned more chakra than she had ever done in the past, she slammed it onto the ground. Gigantic fissures formed in a horizontal line, preventing anyone from going after Koharu and trees tumbled, forming a gigantic wall separating Team Hawk and Sakura from him. White spots danced before her eyes and she fought down a wave of nausea- her hands were screaming in pain.

It was only a split second later that Sasuke grabbed her wrist in a vicelike grip, his crimson eyes burning with anger that seemed so shallow. Sasuke towered over her, but she made no move to fight back against him and stayed absolutely still.

In a quiet, quiet voice, she said to him, "You were here earlier. You could have stopped me from saving him."

He said nothing in response, but his grip merely tightened around her slender wrist.

Her gaze never faltered. "You saw it too, didn't you? That he was just like Naruto-"

"Sasuke-san!" Juugo shouted.

Sasuke released Sakura instinctively, as though she had burned him, and looked away from her. Juugo, Suigetsu and Karin emerged from the trees and Suigetsu let out a low whistle of appreciation as he took in the destruction Sakura had wrought.

"Wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that," he commented.

Karin snapped, "Don't compliment her."

"We're moving out," Sasuke announced firmly.

In complete shock, Suigetsu asked, "What? That's it? No punishment or anything?"

"Suigetsu. Let's go," Juugo said quietly.

Sakura honestly didn't know if Suigetsu was friend or foe and he flashed her a mouth full of teeth as he sheathed his katana and glided towards the forest. Sasuke and Sakura lingered behind for a few moments longer.

Sasuke said suddenly, "He didn't remind me of Naruto."

"Then…why did you let him go?" she asked.

And for a moment, he seemed like he was about to tell her. She swore she could almost read him, could almost make out what he was thinking- but then he turned away and refused to say anymore.

* * *

**Next chapter preview : not exactly a failure**

"This…this was your mission all along? And I didn't stop you-"

"_You can't kill him, Sasuke!"_

"**Sakura-chan. I'm taking you back to Konoha."**

* * *

**Wow.  
**I never expected so many people to respond to this story! Thank you so much all of you for reviewing! : ) This chapter isn't as cool as the torture chapter (there's something fundamentally wrong with that comparison) but the next chapter should be fun.

…**your chapter preview didn't add up to your next chapter. AGAIN.  
**Um. Well. I can explain this one. Sort of. I was planning on having the whole Kakashi vs. Sasuke thing in this chapter, but then I got carried away with everything else as usual. I'm very bad with planning- I structure nothing and write no plans down so they change a lot. BUT THIS CHAPTER PREVIEW IS CORRECT!

**Isn't there someone you need to thank for the last chapter?  
**QueenThayet12990 is my hero. I'm so sorry for not mentioning you before, but you are my hero. She helped send me a lot of research on torture and interrogation- the whole electricity type shock thing with Zetsu was inspired by what she sent me.

**Is there going to be another chapter as distressing as the last one?  
**Um. Yes. I seriously need to stop reading Neil Gaiman. His dark writing is influencing me too much, even if I love his books to death.

**Is Naruto going to come in again any time soon?  
**Definitely. Again, this wasn't planned, but it just seems to fit now.

**What? The new Naruto movie is beginning to influence this story?  
**Yes. I watched it a couple of days ago and was so O.O by it (words cannot explain how I felt, so I have to use an emoticon). Sasuke/Naruto friendship will become a major factor in this story eventually as well, and you can all blame Bonds for that. Urgh, but Kishimoto knocked Sakura unconscious and got rid of her for the whole movie again! He's so annoying! And is it just me, or is Naruto becoming a harem boy?

* * *

Please help someone less fortunate than you.

**Please review.** : )

_- selandora_


	6. catch you when you fall

"_These people are precious to me…we share a home. We share a life. And though we may not share ties of blood, they are precious to me! They are my family!"  
- __Sandaime_

* * *

Darkness pulled a shroud over the sky and the dimly lit forest evolved into a pitch black nightmare- it was deemed impossible to go any further at this rate by Sasuke. They had stopped an hour ago, but they would start moving in half an hour when it grew lighter. The silence pressed against Sakura's ears like shrieking sirens as Suigetsu, Juugo and Karin all slept soundly through it. Slowly, carefully, she rose and glanced around. Now was her time to make an escape-

"Don't even think about it," an unmistakable voice ordered her.

Without rustling her sleeping bag, she rose to her feet as quietly as she could. A pair of shocking crimson eyes watched her from a gnarled tree branch and she met his gaze easily.

Innocently, she asked, "Think about what?"

"Hn," he hummed, raising an elegant eyebrow at her in a disbelieving manner.

His face was porcelain white against the dark canopy of the tree he towered over her in and her neck was starting to cramp from having to crane it upwards to look up at him. With a sigh of resignation, she latched onto the tree trunk with her small hands and began to manually pull herself up. She had taken advantage of her extra chakra and had healed her hands as fast as she could before Sasuke had the chance to seal it all off, so they were fine now.

"What are you doing?" he questioned.

"Running away, what's it look like?" she drawled sarcastically and his eyes flickered in annoyance.

For a moment, he looked like he wanted to laugh at her and she scowled up at him. Reaching a branch that looked relatively steady, she hoisted herself up onto it and swung her legs over either side, straddling it unattractively. Sasuke stood on his branch, adjacent to hers and the soft moonlight filtered through the leaves, casting snowy patterns on his pale, pale face. The contrast between them was staggering, he was so mature and almost ethereal where she was coarse and average.

His voice was quieter than usual as he asked, "Why did you come up here?"

Her hair seemed almost colourless in this dark place high in the trees, save for the few illuminated strands of rose. Again, her emerald eyes burned with determination as she explained to him, "I want answers, Sasuke."

"Hn."

Swinging one of her legs over the side of the branch so that she was sitting side on, facing him, she said nothing for a few moments. It was as though she was judging how far she could probe with her questions before he snapped and closed off completely.

"What is this mission?" she inquired.

Sasuke said nothing in response. He merely turned to the side and stared straight ahead of him as though she wasn't there at all.

She began, "Kakashi-sensei is here in Grass."

Sasuke remained absolutely motionless, there wasn't even a single inflection in his breathing pattern. Sakura waited for a few moments to see if he would say anything, but instead a heavy silence fell between them.

"You-"

"Hatake Kakashi is not our target," Sasuke interrupted her, his voice sharp.

_Kakashi is safe. I thought they were going to attack him to force Naruto into action but they're not, thank God. I don't think Naruto would be able to lose _another _person-_

**(but he hasn't lost me yet. I'm still here and I'll find a way back, no matter what.)**

His eyes were intense and unreadable as he looked at her, as though he was trying to see through her and unravel her at the same time. It was a strange experience for Sakura. She supposed she should have felt awkward or offended by his blatant stare, but she wasn't. It felt like he was trying to learn _her,_ and he had never ever tried to all those years ago. It had always been about him and _Naruto_-

A voice interrupted them, but it was the wrong one. "Sasuke-san."

Leaning forwards and squinting, Sakura could make out the tall figure of Juugo below them some few hundred feet or so. He smiled up at her, bemused as to why she was there, and as she looked up to say something to Sasuke, she realised with a jolt that he was gone.

"Hey, Sakura! Get down here!" Suigetsu hollered up to her. Her eyes narrowed as she met Sasuke's from where he stood calmly at the bottom of the tree, as though he hadn't been standing to her just moments ago.

Exhaling sharply through her mouth, she began her long descent down to the bottom of the tree. As her feet met the moist ground, she glanced up at Sasuke who was conversing quietly with Karin out of her earshot.

Suigetsu grinned at her and commented, "You seem to be climbing just fine. Your hands are better then, hm?"

"Yeah, no thanks to you guys," Sakura muttered darkly.

"Hey, I didn't touch a hair on your head. And I would've let you escape, since I like you so much," he told her, grinning charmingly.

Sakura couldn't quite force her features into cool indifference and the slightest smile pulled at the corners of her lips. He was so full of shit. Karin interrupted them, more mature than Sakura had ever seen her. She pushed the frame of her glasses upwards with her index finger, her dark eyes serious, and Suigetsu straightened up. It seemed like he knew when not to joke around with her, in fact, the entire atmosphere of Team Hawk seemed to have changed.

"We're a day behind. We'll have to make up for it today, so we're pulling an all-nighter," she informed Suigetsu.

In exasperation, Suigetsu asked her, "Argh, really? But we're going to be completely spent by the time we-"

Karin flashed him a sharp look, glancing at Sakura warningly. Sakura pretended not to notice, but she knew Karin was trying to keep Suigetsu from letting slip what their mission was.

"Sasuke-kun's put you in charge of the hostage. If she collapses from exhaustion or can't travel on her own anymore, you have to carry her," Karin explained.

"I don't need anyone to carry me," Sakura hissed at Karin, thoroughly offended.

Karin looked at her and disapproval rolled off of her in waves. She said shortly, "These are Sasuke-kun's orders, not mine."

Sakura began hotly, "Well, go and tell Sasuke he can take his orders and-"

Sasuke's voice unexpectedly rang out from behind Sakura, "We're leaving."

Sakura started and before she could react, Sasuke brushed past her silently and into the rest of the forest like an apparition. Karin followed after him and Suigetsu shot Sakura a questioning look, suggesting they get a move on. For some strange reason, Juugo lingered around the area, eyeing Sakura intensely and it set her on edge.

As Sakura leapt into the trees, Juugo caught up to her until they were side by side. He suddenly grabbed her wrist and she gasped, trying to snatch it back. Suigetsu looked on, his lilac eyes narrowed in suspicion at what Juugo could do next. He could snap her wrist in less than a second-

"What the hell are you doing?" Suigetsu demanded, his tone harsh.

"I want to ask you something, Sakura-san," Juugo asked, his voice soft and quiet. He ignored Suigetsu's open hostility, he seemed accustomed to it.

His iron grip loosened on her wrist and Sakura was surprised at the honorific he had added to her name. Uncertainly, she said, "Yes?"

Then Juugo asked, "You were trained by the Godaime Hokage to be a medic, correct?"

"Right," Sakura confirmed, not quite sure where the conversation was going.

For a couple of beats, the only sound that filled the air was that of their feet tapping quietly against the branches as they leapt from tree to tree. Juugo looked very thoughtful and contemplative, Sakura wondered for a moment if he had forgotten what he wanted to ask. Suigetsu scoffed rudely, turning his head away and muttering darkly under his breath.

"Do you think you could…help me? I have a problem, you see," Juugo finally asked.

Coldly, Suigetsu interrupted, "Are you stupid? Do you really think she'll help you?"

Sakura was shocked at the awful way Suigetsu was treating Juugo, and even more surprised that Juugo wasn't even bothering to stand up for himself. She wanted to snap at Suigetsu angrily for being such an asshole, but instead she glanced up at Juugo. Even though she had taken the medic's oath to heal anyone and everyone who needed her help, she wasn't sure if she should really heal Juugo.

To worm her way out of an answer, she held up her hands and said, "I don't have any chakra."

Juugo looked at her hands for a few moments, saying absolutely nothing. Then he inclined his head in understanding and released Sakura's wrist, returning to the front of the group beside Sasuke.

"What the hell did he ever do to you?" Sakura asked Suigetsu as soon as Juugo was out of earshot, her brow furrowed.

"He's actually the worst person to have on your team. I can't even defend myself against him properly anymore since I don't have my sword," Suigetsu muttered darkly.

"He seems a lot nicer than the rest of you," Sakura interrupted, defending Juugo without really knowing why.

Suigetsu's lilac eyes fixed her with an intense stare that made chills run up and down her spine. He broke eye contact first, looking forwards with a grim expression on his face as he said cryptically, "You'll see in time."

* * *

The headset in Kakashi's ear began to buzz and crackle, he was receiving a message from Konoha. He exchanged a look with Shikamaru who figured something was up, and he took Kakashi's place at the front of the formation as the copy-nin dropped behind them a couple of paces.

The Hokage's unmistakable, harsh voice filled his right ear. _"Hatake?"_

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi murmured in an undertone, careful not to let the rest of the team hear him.

"_Speak to your former student. He's driving all of us crazy, he says he's got something important to say to you," _she ordered him.

Before Kakashi could protest, there was a static filled crackle as she handed over her headset to someone else. Kakashi sighed, taking his headset out of his ear and dangling it a couple of inches away from his head just to be safe. Naruto's voice was ridiculously loud, after all.

However, the voice on the other end was soft and serious. _"Kakashi-sensei?"_

Furrowing his silver eyebrows in surprise, he tentatively put the headset back into his ear. Successfully managing to hide the disbelief in his voice, he drawled lazily, "Yo."

"_You were attacked a couple of days ago by Mist-nin, weren't you?" _he asked.

"How do you know that, Naruto?" Kakashi asked in surprise. He hadn't told anyone in Konoha about their ambush (of course he had been _planning_ to), but then felt his morale drop like a ton of bricks when he realised that meant Tsunade knew as well.

"_One of them came to Konoha. He said after he retreated from your battle, his team was destroyed by Akatsuki members," _Naruto explained.

The silence that followed as heavy with expectation. Kakashi could sense there was something else Naruto had yet to tell him and waited patiently, knowing it would come in due time.

"_He said he was saved by Sakura and he identified one of the members as Sasuke."_

Kakashi paused for a few moments, recollecting himself before he answered. His mind began to whir with exciting possibilities (_he could save _**both **_of his students_), but he crushed them. In a forcibly calm voice, he inquired, "So they're in Grass, huh?"

"_Kakashi-sensei, you've gotta bring them back-"_

There was a loud pop in Kakashi's ear that made him start slightly and it rang in his head, over and over again. He could hear the faint sound of arguing, between Tsunade and Naruto he presumed, and waited, unsure of what was happening.

Then Tsunade's voice came through on the other end, _"You will do nothing of the kind. Complete your mission and then come straight back to Konoha."_

Kakashi asked carefully, "If we are confronted by them, what are our orders?"

Taking on a threatening tone, Tsunade stated sharply, _"You won't be confronted by them. Am I understood?"_

Lying through his teeth, Kakashi replied, "Understood."

* * *

Suigetsu took a long drag of his water and called out to Sasuke, "We should hurry up, yeah? We're getting close to the capital."

The only answer he received from Sasuke was a curt, "Soon."

"Would it kill you to be a little more specific?" he muttered darkly and Sakura inwardly agreed.

Karin glanced at Sasuke, a concerned expression on her face. She too was getting anxious about how close to the capital they were, any closer and they would probably fail the mission. Sakura picked up on the tense atmosphere between everyone and was beginning to grow frustrated- she had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Then Sasuke stopped, glancing back at the rest of his team with impassive eyes. Everyone slowed to a halt and watched him for his next orders, Sakura grudgingly admitted he seemed to ooze leadership out of every pore. That was probably why he hadn't gotten on well with Naruto, the two of them had been natural born leaders.

_- unlike me-_

"Suigetsu. Make sure she doesn't see or hear anything," Sasuke ordered him.

"Oh, great, you've taken away my freedom and you're trying to take away everything else," Sakura commented bitterly.

Then he added, "And make sure she shuts up too."

A grin spread easily across Suigetsu's mouth and as Sakura opened her mouth to protest, she was suddenly unable to hear anything. In surprise, she stopped speaking and clapped her hands over her ears instinctively. It felt like she was underwater and all the noises were impossible to discern, fuzzy and thick in her ears. Suigetsu covered her mouth and eyes with his clammy hands, pulling her flush against his chest and she let out a squeak of indignation.

She could feel his chest vibrate against her back as he laughed and it only served to infuriate her more. Gripping his wrists tightly, she began to try and pry his hands off her face, but he refused to budge. She brought her sharp elbow back as hard as she could into his stomach and he flinched at the blow, but remained steadfast in holding her still.

If she only had her chakra, she could break his spine in two-

Something small and wet struck her face and she stopped struggling in surprise at the sensation. Was it raining? She had seen rain clouds earlier and had been expecting it to rain, but it was a striking reminder of Amegakure, of _Sasuke_. Another raindrop followed, then another, then she was being pelted incessantly by cold rain.

She could hear Sasuke's voice, though it was muffled in her ears and Suigetsu pulled her tighter to his body. He pressed his cold cheek to hers and she felt him smirk against her skin, she stomped on his foot and slammed her elbow into his stomach again as she tried to get free. Slowly, her hearing returned to her, but he refused to let her go.

"-let her go, Suigetsu."

"What're you going to do if I don't?" Suigetsu challenged Sasuke.

At this point, Sakura bit down as hard as she could on his hand.

"Aargh!" Suigetsu shouted, releasing her instinctively.

Warm water flooded her mouth and she gagged, spitting it out all over the floor. She watched in horror as the water began to move and travel back to Suigetsu's missing palm, materialising there.

"I think you swallowed some," Suigetsu provided helpfully.

He held up his hand, pointing at where a small chunk of his palm was missing. Her eyes widened in fear and she grabbed at her throat, her face pale. She had just _eaten_ another human being-

There was a warm hand on her shoulder and she looked up in surprise. Sasuke was standing beside her, his crimson eyes narrowed at Suigetsu and he snapped irritably, "Cut it out."

"Urgh, you're really no fun," Suigetsu complained as the rest of his hand formed before Sakura's eyes.

"Can't you be serious for once?" Karin spat at him.

The rain plastered Sakura's pale pink hair to her face, she brushed it out of the way and glared at Suigetsu. He grinned back at her, revealing all of his sharp white teeth, and winked.

Juugo asked quietly, "Are we just following the strategy then?"

"The one we discussed last night," Sasuke confirmed.

"But what happens if I…I lose control?" Juugo questioned, worry etched deeply into his soft features.

Sasuke's voice was cool and composed as he stated, "I'll know."

Suigetsu sighed and pulled out his katana, slashing experimentally with it. He looked at it in disgust and announced, "When we get back to Amegakure, you guys are paying for my new sword."

"What, think you can't complete the mission with a katana?" Karin goaded him.

"Fuck you, I can complete the mission," Suigetsu retorted defensively.

She tossed her shocking red ponytail over her shoulder and glared at him. "Then stop complaining and get on with it."

Sasuke's crimson eyes flashed. "Go."

The three of them left immediately and Sakura made to follow them, but there was a warning tug on the back of her grey shirt. She looked back in surprise at Sasuke, whose gaze was impassive and unreadable as usual.

"You're not going with them," Sasuke told her flatly as the rest of Team Hawk disappeared into the foliage.

"What? Why not?" Sakura demanded, folding her arms over her chest.

Sasuke had yet to release her shirt, she realised, he probably thought she'd go running off if he gave her the chance. He raised a dark eyebrow and said, "You'd going to sabotage the mission."

"Why aren't you with your team then? Shouldn't you be there commanding them?" she asked, annoyed that he had picked up on exactly what she wanted to do.

"All three of them would probably let you escape. And they can handle it without me," he explained, not meeting her eyes.

_They can handle it without me._

His tone had spoken volumes and Sakura couldn't help the stab of pain that arose within her. Sasuke _trusted_ Team Hawk and trusted each of its members' abilities to the point that he could leave them to complete a mission without him. She felt her teeth grit and forced herself to look away from him, the bitter resentment swelling in her chest.

_You never trusted us like that._

* * *

Kakashi glanced up at the sky, his onyx eye furrowing in suspicion. He had always been particularly sensitive to the weather, and even though there had been rain clouds in the sky, none of them had warranted a violent rainstorm like this. Shikamaru looked troubled by this as well. Ino had picked up on the tension between the two men, she wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her kunai anxiously.

Thunder crashed overhead and Tazuna shivered at its close proximity, squinting up through the complicated forest canopy. He asked, "Are you sure it's safe for us to be travelling in this rainstorm?"

"Well, we could stand around and wait to be hit by lightning if you'd like," Kakashi supplied cheerfully, his eyes curving into crescent moons.

Tazuna scowled and clamped his mouth shut tightly, pulling his bamboo hat further down over his dark eyes. The storm was setting everyone on edge and they lapsed into a silence.

Then suddenly, Tazuna asked, "How are the brats doing?"

"Hm? You mean Naruto and Sakura?" Kakashi questioned.

Tazuna shrugged defensively, as though he was embarrassed to be caught caring about anyone. Kakashi could feel Shikamaru's heavy, expectant gaze on the back of his neck- he was waiting to see what Kakashi would say about Sakura.

"Mm…well, Sakura has boobs now and Naruto's still annoying," Kakashi answered.

Ino blurted, "What kind of a teacher are you?"

"A pretty handsome one, I'd like to think," Kakashi replied, his mask crinkling as he smiled.

Shikamaru let out a small 'tch' and commented, "How troublesome…"

Then suddenly, Tazuna stopped. The rest of the team stopped as well and glanced at him in surprise, watching as his mouth sagged open and his eyes grew wide, wider, _wider_-

"Tazuna-san? Is something wrong?" Kakashi asked, his voice taking on a slightly more urgent tone.

Ino began worriedly, "Kakashi-senpai, he's not breathing."

Something shifted in Kakashi's eyes as he said, "That can't be good, can it?"

Shikamaru flashed like lightning, accompanied by a roar of thunder as there was a sudden, chilling ring of metal against metal. It echoed in the clearing and Kakashi instantly fell into a defensive position, his back to Ino and Tazuna.

Kakashi ordered her sharply, "Heal him. We'll cover you."

Shikamaru looked up at the sky and then back down at the forest canopy. He swore inwardly as he realised that there was no sunlight, which meant no shadows, and that meant he couldn't use his shadow jutsu. He saw the flashes of an Akatsuki cloak between the pinstriped trees and he tensed.

"Akatsuki," he said quietly.

Ino's head snapped upwards and Kakashi's hand tightened around his kunai hilt. Shikamaru then continued, "We can't move until you finish healing Tazuna-san, Ino."

"His lungs are filled with fluid and it'll take me fifteen minutes to take it all out," Ino said worriedly.

Kakashi's voice cut in, "Do you have to take out all of it for him to survive?"

She said, "No, but he'll be in pain-"

"Better in pain than dead," Kakashi said, deflecting another kunai. Ino frowned at his words, feeling a fleeting stab of pain race through her at how condescending he was being.

"How long?" Shikamaru questioned softly so as not to rile her.

"Six minutes," she replied.

Another Akatsuki cloak flashed through the trees and Kakashi threw a kunai at it instinctively, only to have it thrown straight back at him. His hand flashed out at exactly the right moment and he snatched it out of the air, Shikamaru glanced at him.

Just as Shikamaru looked away, Juugo lunged forwards, his kunai thrust forwards. Shikamaru managed to dodge it in the nick of the time and he grabbed Juugo's wrist, twisting it to the side painfully. Juugo's mouth set in a straight line as he fought to control himself. Shikamaru brought his leg up to kick him and Juugo's his hand grabbed his ankle. Juugo towered over him, he was nothing short of a giant, it surprised Shikamaru how fast he was.

There was a flash of colour in the trees and Kakashi felt something in his heart clench. He called out instinctively, "Sakura!"

An amused, high pitched laugh echoed in the trees from seemingly everywhere all at once. A female voice goaded him, "Not here, I'm afraid."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed at once, he couldn't detect her chakra anywhere. It was as though she didn't exist at all and she was impossible to track, the sound of the falling rain and thunder drowned out her footsteps. He summoned two ninken and they appeared with a muted pop, tongues wagging. Pakkun glanced up at Kakashi with a squinted eye, shaking his head in irritation as rainwater filled his eyes.

"Guruku, there's a woman in the trees around here. I want you to track down her scent and spike your chakra when you find her," Kakashi ordered the bigger, tan dog.

It inclined its head, its forehead protector flashing, and was off quickly. Pakkun asked, "Then what's my mission?"

"Sakura and Sasuke are somewhere around here. If they've gone in separate directions, go after Sakura," Kakashi told him quietly.

Pakkun rose to his feet, shaking his body and spraying droplets of water everywhere. "Roger."

As Karin sensed Pakkun's chakra signature getting further and further away from them, she wondered with narrowed eyes, _where's that other dog going?_

There was a hiss of frustration and Shikamaru looked over his shoulder at Ino.

"There's something wrong. The fluid…it's not water, but it's filled with chakra," Ino said. "It keeps resisting the extraction."

Kakashi glanced over at her and said sharply, "Take my place, Ino."

"What?"

"Take my place," he repeated, and before she could argue, he had already forced his way to Tazuna.

His fingers flashed through hand signals and without saying a single word, his hand began to glow blue. The unmistakable sound of birds filled the air as the electricity crackled, he controlled it to the point that it wasn't lethal and both Juugo and Karin stopped in shock.

_I thought only Sasuke-kun knew the chidori_, Karin thought in complete surprise. _Suigetsu's hypersensitive to electricity, a shock that wouldn't kill other people would take him out easily-_

"Kakashi-senpai, be careful," Shikamaru warned him.

Karin shouted, "Suigetsu, get out of there!"

But she was too late, Kakashi's arm thrust towards Tazuna's seemingly lifeless body. The breath caught in her throat, **Suigetsu**_-_

There was a horrendous spike in chakra that made her flinch involuntarily as it overwhelmed her. It choked all of them, filling the air with its poisonous intensity, and Kakashi slammed into a gnarled tree mercilessly with a loud crack. The chidori died in his hand and he looked blearily down at his unnaturally bent left wrist. It was broken.

A furious, inhuman roar overpowered everything in the vicinity, "**I'll kill you!**"

Juugo raised his arm and his nails raked through Tazuna's throat, drawing blood. It killed him instantly and Ino let out a shout of anger, nobody deserved to die so savagely. Juugo's eyes gleamed with sickening glee as he stared at the crimson blood staining his fingers, watching as the rain mixed with it and it dripped slowly from his fingertips. _Drip. Drip. Drip. _Shikamaru's mouth set into a firm line and he grabbed Ino by the arm, pulling her backwards with him as Juugo began to go on a rampage.

"Kakashi-senpai, we should retreat," Shikamaru murmured to him.

Kakashi turned his head to Shikamaru, "You two go on ahead. I'll bring Tazuna with me."

Shikamaru reasoned with him, "You're wounded, you don't stand a chance against that guy. His chakra and his speed…it's-"

"I've got it covered," Kakashi said, rising to his feet.

There was a sharp tug at his pants and Kakashi glanced down. Pakkun sat on the ground, looking up at him with a serious expression as he reported, "Sakura and Sasuke are coming this way."

"Sakura and Sasuke?" Ino blurted in complete surprise.

Suigetsu materialised between them suddenly with a grin plastered to his face, and he let his arm slam into Shikamaru's face. Caught off guard by the unexpected blow, Shikamaru stumbled to the right to regain his balance and Juugo's unearthly amber eyes pinpointed him.

Materialising into water again, Suigetsu travelled through the rain to where Karin was and he knelt beside her, watching Juugo lunge for Shikamaru. He looked up at her and asked, "How long until Sasuke gets here?"

"Twenty seconds," Karin replied, her bright red eyes watching the battle below.

Shrugging nonchalantly, Suigetsu commented, "More than enough time for Juugo to wipe them out then."

* * *

Sakura had been unexpectedly swept into Sasuke's arms, his arms tightened around her knees and shoulders so that she would be unable to escape. She struggled, beating her tiny fists against his bare, rain-slicked chest and gritted her teeth. If only she had her chakra, he would be dead by now.

"What the hell? Put me down!" Sakura snapped at him.

Sasuke stated, "You'll escape."

"Do you think I'd do something like that now? You're too fast for me, you'd be on my ass in two seconds," she hissed. "I just want to run on my own!"

"You're too slow," he told her.

She snarled, "Screw you-"

"Sakura. Shut up," he ordered her, his voice cold and harsh.

The bluntness of statement shocked her into silence. Sasuke had never seemed so tense before and it was showing in his voice as well as his almost unbearably tight grip around her. She had been distracted by his sudden manhandling of her before, but now she began to pick up on the traces of a dark, choking chakra. It was almost like Naruto's, but not as powerful.

She fell still in his arms and when she did so, Sasuke noticed how tight he was holding her. He let his arms relax around her and she stopped struggling, curling her hands into fists on her stomach.

- **teach me to restrain Naruto **_and Yamato's refusal had struck her harder than any blow ever would, because she could do absolutely nothing for him again _-

"Who is that?" she asked quietly.

His reply was short, "Juugo."

Then Sakura began to pick up on chakra signatures that were so familiar to her, that she became overcome with homesickness upon sensing them. She gasped, "Kakashi-sensei? But you said…you _said_ he wasn't your target! You can't kill him, Sasuke-"

"I told you. He's not my target," Sasuke reaffirmed.

Sakura argued, "Then what the hell are you-"

A loud crash of thunder drowned out her sentence and light shone through the forest canopy, casting shadows on the ground. Every last raindrop seemed to glow with the intensity of the natural electricity and she winced at how close the thunder seemed to be. She berated herself for her moment of weakness and Sasuke's hands tightened around her skin ever so slightly, his hands warm against her cold skin.

"Hey, Sasuke, you might wanna hurry up," Suigetsu commented sarcastically as Sasuke came to a sudden halt in front of his team mate.

Sakura's eyes widened as she took in Tazuna's dead body. Sasuke was completely unaffected by the sight of it, but how could he not be? Tazuna was their first escort mission, they had worked so hard together to save him and-

**- you're heavy **_and his onyx eyes were tired, but Sasuke was alive (_with me)_ and she swore she had never been so relieved in her life before_ -

Sakura began in horror, "This…this was your mission? And I didn't stop you-"

"Take her," Sasuke ordered him, sliding Sakura into Suigetsu's outstretched arms.

Suigetsu sighed and his cold arms, so different from Sasuke's, tightened around her body like a clamp. "Yeah, yeah."

Sasuke flashed into the small clearing, darting out of the way as Juugo rushed past him towards Shikamaru. He was sporting a large gory gash across his shoulder and was limping when he walked, Ino and Kakashi looked no better. Juugo's eyes were wild with insanity, the grin across his face was terrifying and Sakura felt the twinges of fear build in the back of her mind.

She shouted out as loud as she could, "Kakashi-sens-!"

Suigetsu's hand covered her mouth as fast as he could, but the damage had already been done. Karin snarled at him, "Why the hell didn't you shut her up earlier?"

"Fuck you, I got her just a moment ago," Suigetsu defended himself.

Kakashi looked up at the tree Sakura's scream had come from and felt determination well within him. Even though Sasuke was standing right in front of him, even though Sasuke had always been his favourite, he had been unable to protect Sakura from being kidnapped. The guilt had built up within him for so long, he had been a terrible sensei to her, he had neglected her so much and he wanted to atone for what he had done. He would rescue her, no matter what.

Shikamaru swayed heavily on his feet and Ino took her place in front of him, holding her kunai in front of her in a defensive position. He asked her in a weak voice, "What are you doing?"

"Protecting you, what's it look like, dummy?" she snapped at him.

Shikamaru commented, "You do realise he's much too strong for the both of us."

"Yeah."

A small smirk pulled at the corners of his lips. "How troublesome."

As Juugo charged them, Ino's hands tightened around her kunai and she made to slash back at him. Before she could however, a dark Akatsuki cloak flashed before her vision, hiding Juugo from her.

A smooth as velvet baritone voice spoke, "Juugo."

Sasuke's crimson Sharingan eyes whirled, the stars spiralling around and around in his eyes. Juugo was paralysed to the spot, his golden eyes wide with surprise, and he was unable to drag his gaze away from Sasuke's. The insanity slowly faded from his eyes and back to normalcy, the choking chakra signature began to fade along with it.

A loud telltale groan overpowered the sound of thunder as Kakashi felled the tree that Sakura, Suigetsu and Karin were taking refuge in. It began to fall towards everyone in the clearing and would crush all of them, Sasuke's hands began to flash through hand signals.

Suigetsu landed on the ground near him, his arms tight around Sakura. She was struggling wildly, trying to get free, and her arm was outstretched, trying to reach out for Kakashi.

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" _Sasuke called out.

A long stream of fire spewed from his mouth, unhindered by the rain, and swallowed the tree immediately. It illuminated the entire clearing, casting shadows on the ground, and Shikamaru felt everything click into place. His brown eyes met Suigetsu's lilac ones, and then Sakura's.

His hands formed the hand signals and he murmured quietly, "_Kagemane no jutsu."_

The shadows began to stretch on the ground, becoming bodiless monsters and then simple shadows. Suigetsu noticed none of this, but Sakura felt the smallest smile of triumph spread across her face as she watched Shikamaru's shadow merge with Suigetsu's.

Suigetsu blurted in surprise as his entire body went completely stiff, "What the-"

He was buffeted out of the way by Kakashi, who easily took Sakura from him, and then Shikamaru released the jutsu. Ino grabbed Tazuna's lifeless body and they began to retreat from the battle at top speed.

Kakashi smiled down at Sakura, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons. The effect was ruined somewhat by the blood smeared across his face, but Sakura didn't care. She had never been so relieved to see him. He greeted her, "Yo."

"You're so irresponsible," she snapped at him irritably, hiding her joy.

"Ahh, sorry, sorry. It's just the way I am. But we're going back to Konoha now," Kakashi replied.

- **Konoha **_and the name brought back memories and faces, but there was one that stood out the most_-

Her eyes flickered as she warned him, "They're fast. They'll catch up to us in no time."

Kakashi's smile only widened as he explained, "I had Pakkun place explosion tags around the clearing."

"You _what_?"

The deafening sounds of telltale explosions filled the air and Sakura could feel her hair on the back of her neck prickle from the intense heat. And for a moment, blinding, unexpected fear raced through her. Team Hawk might not make it out alive-

"It'll take them a day at least to catch up with us, they'll have to manoeuvre their way around all of the fallen trees. We can make it back to Konoha ahead of them," Kakashi informed the rest of the team.

"Forehead, what the hell were you doing with Sasuke?" Ino demanded, her blue eyes narrowing.

Shikamaru added, "That's exactly what I'd like to know."

Before Sakura could say anything, Kakashi cut in, "We'll explain it when we stop for the night."

And Sakura was glad Kakashi had batted away their questions. She was so tired and swarmed with so many emotions, she couldn't think properly. She was going home. She was going _home._

(_and Naruto would be safe-)_

"Do you…" she began hesitantly.

Kakashi pressed her, "Do I what?"

Sakura's arms tightened around herself and the longing in her chest was beginning to eat away at her like a disease. Her voice trembled, "Do you have your headset with you? I want to talk to Naruto."

* * *

**Next chapter preview : so close to salvation**

"_I was…I was so _scared_ that they'd do something to you and I wouldn't be able to stop it-"_

"What do you mean you want to let her go, Sasuke? We have to go after her!"

"**If I go back to them, I can get information on Akatsuki. I can protect Naruto."**

* * *

**Oh my holy sweet bejeebus. That was a very long chapter.**

**Where's Sai? He's so awesome.  
**I love Sai too, but I don't want to drag too many characters into this. When I put too many in, I get really frustrated with the story because I'm trying to fit them all in at once. I think it's better to focus on a few characters with better characterisation than a bunch of different ones that are kind of shallow.

**Sasuke's not this ruthless.  
**I agree, I was reading over the earlier chapters and I was like, "Whoa. What an asshole." He's getting nicer though, I think. I'm trying my best to improve on him, thanks for pointing that out.

**Sasuke doesn't deserve anyone.  
**Hm, well, after seeing the movie and rereading the Hachibi vs. Hawk chapters, I kind of like him more. I've been brainwashed by fan fiction mostly, before I started reading sasusaku earlier this year I hated him so much. Especially since I wrote a stupid amount of itasaku. But I think Sasuke's been through so much shit and he really needs someone to pull him out of it. (ew, mental image.)

**Why does Sasuke still have his Konoha shirt? And why did he let Mitose go?  
**: ) This will be explained in a later chapter, but you'll have to wait for a few more chapters. If I follow the very rough guide I've made in my head, it should be explained in chapter eleven or twelve. But I stress, _rough guide_.

**Where can I find the movie Bonds?  
**I got a lot of questions in the last chapter about it, so I'll just put it here. I downloaded the torrent off dattebayo . com. They're an amazing group of subbers, it's a shame they stopped subbing Naruto but I understand why. I'm really grateful to them, if it hadn't been for their subs I wouldn't be this into Naruto.

**I don't think Sakura and Sasuke will get together at the rate they're going.  
**Ehehe, well, I'm hoping this story is just under 30 chapters. Epically long stories are a pain to read, unless they're absolutely amazing like Tales From the House of the Moon by Resmiranda. But that's an Inuyasha story. I want their relationship progress to be slow and I definitely want them to become friends first before they start snogging each other. I'm sorry if it's making you guys impatient. : S

**Sasuke is so bisexual. Bonds was ridiculous, he was so ready to jump Naruto's bones. And Naruto was too. Gosh, they're so hormonal.  
**I know, right? Ahh, if Naruto and Sasuke confront each other in this story, I don't know how I'm going to write it without it becoming yaoi-y (what a word). I love narusasu, so I guess I'll have to stay away from the two of them.

**Can you explain the title of the story?  
**Oh, I guess I should. I was obsessed with the song Say (All I Need) by OneRepublic for a while and it was one of the things that inspired me to write this. The lyrics always make me think of the way I want Sasuke and Sakura to be in this story and it's deliciously depressing, so it's always good to listen to while writing angsty scenes. So I just stole the title of the song and put it here. I'm not very creative, I did the same thing with Everything.

**Karin's characterisation isn't that good. Can you improve it?  
**I am so grateful to the person who pointed this out to me (FanFicHolic). I completely agree with what he/she was saying, Karin's really two dimensional right now. I'm trying to go a little deeper into her character (not sure if it shows in this chapter though), when I read over the other chapters I was so embarrassed because all she does is shriek about Sasuke and Suigetsu.

**You have GCSEs now? Is this why it took so long to update?  
**Um, yeah. I still have eleven exams to go, so the updates are going to be very laggy and I apologise. This chapter was a bit longer (15 pages instead of 10!) and I hope it made up for it. Hm, speaking of which, I should be going to my maths paper 4 exam now. Wish me luck!

* * *

You know, if you wrote a story, I'd probably **review** it too. : )

- _selandora_


	7. so close to salvation

"_When I'm with Naruto…he makes me want to walk with him."  
__-_ Shikamaru

* * *

The rain had continued to pour and the falling droplets were incessant background noise to the tense atmosphere. Sakura found herself picking at the edge of Sasuke's grey shirt, pulling apart the threads nervously, while Kakashi spoke quietly into headset. He was trying to get in touch with Naruto for her, and Shikamaru and Ino were on patrol. All four of them were incredibly tense about the situation, Akatsuki could attack them at any moment, and Sakura felt guilty that it was all her fault.

If only she hadn't been caught in the first place-

"-there was nothing we could do to save Tazuna-san," Kakashi's voice began to rise.

It had been like this for a while. Tsunade was apparently livid that they had failed the mission and Kakashi was stubbornly defending himself against her, something that Sakura had hardly ever seen him do. He normally didn't care whether or not Tsunade was angry with him.

Sakura was growing impatient and stopped in her destruction of Sasuke's shirt momentarily, looking up at Kakashi. His face was serious and she could still read the anger in his eyes after all this time separated from him.

His voice took on a deadly tone. "Do _not_ bring my father into this."

The killing intent filled the air and made Sakura shiver involuntarily. She had never heard Kakashi talk about his father before, he never spoke about his past, but it was a topic that was definitely off limits. Her throat was growing dry and she swallowed painfully as a tense silence fell over the forest.

Then there was a quiet crunch as Kakashi crushed leaves underfoot, pulling the headset out of his ear with taut muscles. He held it out to her, unable to meet Sakura's gaze, and she delicately picked the transparent headset from his hand. Once she had taken it, he turned abruptly and leapt into a tree, taking refuge in the higher branches. He obviously wasn't very happy.

"Hello?" Sakura asked.

Tsunade's voice was clear as day on the other end. _"Sakura? Is that you?"_

"It's me, shishou," she confirmed, feeling a wave of homesickness wash over her not for the first time. She hadn't been away for long, but it felt like forever.

"_I want a detailed report of everything that has happened to you while you were being held hostage when you come back," _she ordered firmly.

And Sakura had missed Tsunade too, with her no nonsense personality and temper tantrums. Sakura couldn't resist the smile that spread slowly across her lips and it affected the way she spoke her next words, "Yes, shishou."

"_Are you laughing? This isn't a laughing matter," _Tsunade threatened her.

"No. I'm just happy to hear your voice again," Sakura explained, her smile widening.

There was a short silence on the other end. Sakura had a feeling Tsunade was struggling with an answer, but she was accustomed to Tsunade's inability to express herself well. She waited for an answer patiently and then it came.

Tsunade's voice sounded strained. _"How are- what is your condition?" _

"I'm fine now. I'm just drained of chakra."

"_Get Hatake to give you some soldier pills. I'll know if you don't take them."_

And Sakura couldn't help but blurt, "I'm sorry."

"_Sorry?" _

"The mission. It failed and I should've done something more to stop Team Hawk-"

"_It wasn't your mission."_

"It really wasn't Kakashi-sensei's fault. There was nothing they could have done to save Tazuna-san without killing him."

"_That doesn't change the fact that they failed their mission."_

"…no," Sakura reluctantly agreed.

Silence fell between them on the headset.

"Can I…talk to Naruto?" she asked quietly.

Dryly, Tsunade replied, _"He's the reason why you called, isn't he?"_

Quickly, Sakura tried to save herself, "Well, I wanted to talk to you as well-"

"_Don't suck up to me, girl._"

Sakura couldn't help but smile again and there was a crackle in her ear as the headset was passed on to someone else. She felt her chest tighten as she strained her ears, waiting for the even the quietest of noises, and she pressed the headset further into her ear as though it would help with the clarity. Her heart began to pound erratically in her ears, _thump, thump, thump-_

"_Sakura-chan?"_

(it's him, it's him, **it's him**)

"Naruto?"

Silence fell.

"_I'm-"_

His voice broke unexpectedly.

"_I'm sorry."_

"Sorry? What do you have to be sorry about, idiot?"

"_I couldn't come save you and it was my fault you were kidnapped. I should have just handed myself over-"_

"Don't say that. Don't you _ever_ say that again, do you understand?"

"_But-"_

"If you handed yourself over to Akatsuki for my sake, I'd never forgive you. I wouldn't let them do the trade, I'd lock myself in that stupid village forever if I had to."

"_You wouldn't. The rain would drive you crazy."_

"I'd learn to live with it."

There was a pause.

"…_God, I missed you."_

"I wasn't gone that long. And I'm coming home now, so you'll see me soon."

"_Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?"_

**- lie -**

_(because he'll blame himself for everything like he always does)_

"Well, they drained my chakra so I couldn't escape. But apart from that, no."

"_I was…I was so _scared_ that they'd do something to you and I wouldn't be there to stop it-"_

"I'm okay, Naruto, so you don't have to worry anymore, alright? I'm fine. I'm really fine."

"_I won't believe it until I see you."_

- stupid and irrational and so **Naruto **-

"You're so stupid, you know that?"

"_Don't cry, Sakura-chan."_

"Well, whose fault is it that I'm crying?"

_Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale-_

"Naruto-"

"_I'm here. I'm here, Sakura."_

"Naruto, I-"

"_We're going to be together really soon, okay? So you don't have to cry anymore."_

"Idiot, you're crying too."

"_No I'm not."_

"You're so bad at lying."

His laugh -_too loud to be genuine- _gave way to silence that shrouded what they both needed to say.

Then Naruto's voice, vulnerable and soft, broke it.

"…_come home."_

* * *

"What do you mean you want to let her go, Sasuke-kun? We have to go after her!" Karin demanded, her ruby red eyes wide with shock.

"They'll enter Konoha territory soon. It's more trouble than it's worth to retrieve her," Sasuke explained in a flat tone.

She sat down beside him, as close as she dared, pointing out, "If we return to Amegakure and we don't have Sakura with us, Madara will punish you."

"I am aware of that," Sasuke stated.

She demanded in a loud voice, "You don't care?"

He said nothing in response, his crimson gaze unaffected and seemingly detached from the scene unfolding before him. Suigetsu was uncannily quiet on the other side of the clearing, watching Sasuke with resentful lilac eyes alongside Juugo.

Then Juugo began, "Karin, if he doesn't want to-"

"Shut up, Juugo," Suigetsu snarled at him viciously.

Karin's eyes met Sasuke's, perfect swirls of red that made Sasuke think of blood, of hatred, of Sakura (_because they were so different from hers)_ and still, he said nothing. His cold aloofness was hurting Karin and Suigetsu could read it in her body language.

"I don't want you to go to Zetsu again," she whispered.

Tense silence fell between each and every member of Team Hawk. Lilac, red and amber surrounded Sasuke from all sides, choking him simultaneously, and he rose to his feet.

"We are returning to Amegakure," Sasuke ground out firmly.

Defeated, Karin looked down at her knees hopelessly. Suigetsu watched as she bit down on her lip, worry filling her features, and it frustrated him to no end. Sasuke brushed past him and that fleeting moment of contact ignited the urge to punch Sasuke, to make him see that they _had_ to go after Sakura.

He was always the martyr, always taking the blame for the team, and it would be impossible to separate him from his Konoha ideals. Suigetsu couldn't understand why, he had defected, hadn't he? His folded arms clenched tightly as he stared straight ahead of him, his mind whirring with possibilities. Juugo began to follow Sasuke and Suigetsu's arm lashed out, gripping him tightly by the shoulder.

He hissed under his breath, "If you want to protect Sasuke, then you'll make sure he doesn't come after us."

Something clicked into place in Juugo's eyes and he hesitated. That split second was all the time that Suigetsu needed, he knew Juugo would do it, and he grabbed Karin by the wrist. He yanked her to her feet and she was caught off guard by the unexpected movement, stumbling after him. Sasuke's head snapped to the right, but Suigetsu was already running for his life.

"What are you doing?" Karin demanded angrily.

His hand tightened and he stated, "We're going to get Sakura."

In surprise, she blurted, "What? But Sasuke just said-"

"To hell with what Sasuke said!" he snarled at her.

She yanked at her arm, trying to pull it back, but he held on tightly, refusing to let her go. "Suigetsu, stop."

"No."

"Suigetsu, _stop_!" she shouted at him, grinding her feet into the ground and forcing them to a halt.

His lilac eyes flashed dangerously and he pulled on her wrist. To balance herself, she took a step forwards instinctively and inhaled sharply when she realised their faces were mere centimetres apart. She could feel his hot breath against her face, curling over her cheeks as he breathed in and out, in and out. His gaze was intense and sparkled with anger, whereas her eyes were wide with surprise.

"You said it yourself, didn't you? That you didn't want to see him go to Zetsu again," he demanded, his voice deadly quiet.

Paralysed to the spot, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

- **hang in there, bastard **_and in the dark, dark room, the screeches continued without end, but Suigetsu could feel Sasuke's presence there growing weaker by the day_-

Suigetsu's jaw tightened. "Neither do I."

He released her slim wrist, his cold palm tingling with the warmth of her skin. Turning abruptly, he began to walk away from her in a vague direction, unsure of which way Sakura had gone.

Her voice was quiet. "…idiot."

Turning his head slightly to meet her gaze, he was surprised at the soft smile on her face. It melted right off of her features once she realised he was looking and was replaced by forced indifference as she pushed her glasses further up her nose.

Clearing her throat self consciously, she pointed decisively to her right. She explained, "You're going the wrong way."

* * *

- **come home **_and if she tried hard enough, she could see him holding his headset tightly, his features laced with pain, but he was _safe-

"He didn't ask you about Sasuke?" Kakashi asked quietly.

Shaking her head slowly, Sakura replied, "No."

His onyx gaze flickered for a few moments as he watched her quietly. Turning his head so that he was facing straight ahead, he told her, "Then I will."

She couldn't bring herself to resent that his favouritism was shining through bright as a beacon once again, but instead was very quiet. The transparent headset gleamed at her from where it lay in her palm innocently; Kakashi had let her hold on to it in case Naruto called again.

As though it had given her strength, she began, "He's the leader of Team Hawk now, which is a subdivision of Akatsuki. The members are all former Sound ninja, he took them with him when he escaped from Sound. They all take orders from him, not from Akatsuki. The members are Juugo, Houzuki Suigetsu and Karin."

Leaning forwards on her knees and resting her cheeks against her palms, she fought not to look at Kakashi. "I'm not sure about Juugo's fighting style, but I know he has a medical disability. Suigetsu uses water jutsu and can turn himself into water at will, so hits go straight through him. I know he's weak to electricity though. He's at a disadvantage now though, since he's using a katana he's not used to. Karin's the team's tracker."

"And Sasuke?" he pressed her.

"He's-"

She stopped, unsure of what to say next. Kakashi waited patiently, silence falling between the two of them.

Then she said quietly, "I think…he didn't find the release he was looking for after he killed Itachi."

- **I know it won't make me happier **_he had told her by a lonely bench on a cold night, as though he really understood the tragic consequences of his actions, but now Sakura begged to differ _-

For a few moments, the only sounds were that of their heartbeats and quiet, quiet breathing.

"Your fingers," he said suddenly.

Shifting his head ever so slightly to look at them, he continued, "You had to heal them, didn't you? They're still stiff and you're having trouble moving them."

Sakura gritted her teeth, looking down at her hands. Of course, Kakashi would pick up on something so small and trivial. He had the eyes of a hawk.

"Did Sasuke do that to you?" he asked her.

(_if I said yes, what would you do-?_)

Forcing away her dark thoughts, she answered, "No. It was another Akatsuki member called Zetsu."

"Torture specialist?" Kakashi inquired mildly.

Slowly, Sakura nodded.

Then, she told him quietly, "Don't tell Naruto."

"When he finds out, he'll be angry," Kakashi commented.

"I know."

"Then why hide it?"

Lowering her head, Sakura explained, "He'll blame himself. He'll think that it's his fault."

Kakashi pointed out, "He'd be right though."

Potent anger overwhelmed her suddenly and she snarled, "No he wouldn't."

"If it wasn't for Naruto, lots of bad things wouldn't have happened. The village wouldn't be on such high alert all the time. Asuma probably wouldn't have died. Jiraiya probably wouldn't have died. You wouldn't have been kidnapped or tortured," he said coldly, ruthlessly.

She began furiously, "How can you-"

"But…lots of good things have also happened because of him. Even though they don't outweigh the bad, it's still enough to remind you that he's worth protecting because he gives more than he gets."

Her emerald eyes wandered absentmindedly over to the mission report she was nearly finished writing. The report was already eight pages long and there was so much information there, more than they had _ever_ received about Akatsuki in one go, and she stared at the wad of scribbled papers. Imagine how much information she could get if she had _stayed_-

"I know what you're thinking, and it's not worth it," his voice cut through her thoughts, sharp as a knife.

"If I go back to them, I can get information on Akatsuki. I can protect Naruto," she said firmly.

He pointed out, "But Naruto will be twice as determined to get you back."

She began in frustration, "If I tell Naruto what I'm planning-"

"He won't let you. And if you go and do it anyway, he'll think it's his fault and he'll try and correct his wrongs," he shot down her arguments effortlessly.

Gritting her teeth, Sakura glared at her knees as she pulled them tightly to her chest. Kakashi said nothing, his gaze fixed on the streaks of moonlight filtering down through the forest canopy.

Then quietly, he said, "If you go back to Akatsuki, it'll be like Sasuke leaving all over again."

Sakura's eyes widened involuntarily at the statement. His words left a bitter taste at the back of the mouth that wouldn't go away no matter how many times she swallowed, and slowly her body began to relax. Staring at the diminutive shapes her fingernails made in the dark, she felt a new conflict build within her_._

* * *

Lingering on the outskirts of the clearing Sakura's team had set up camp in, Suigetsu squinted at the blue sky in distaste. With a resigned sigh, he glanced over at Karin, who was busy fussing over her kunai pouch.

He commented, "It was too much to hope for Sasuke to use his storm jutsu, huh? That selfish bastard."

"We can't rely on Sasuke-kun all the time. Just follow the plan," she said sharply.

"Sure, whatever," Suigetsu sighed, glancing over at her with cool lilac eyes.

Karin's eyes widened for a split second in surprise at his easy agreement, but then she folded her arms over her chest quickly and looked away from him- avoiding his gaze. She ground out, "Shut up and focus for once. Get into position."

Her blatant embarrassment was not lost on Suigetsu, but instead of taking the time to properly humiliate her, he turned his head towards their targets. With a shrug, he pulled out his katana and disappeared in a flash.

Gritting her teeth in concentration, she worked on trying to shield Suigetsu's chakra as well as her own. On the other side of the clearing, Suigetsu's hands began to flash through a series of signs that he hadn't used in what seemed like forever.

"_Kirigakure no jutsu_," he murmured under his breath.

Sakura felt every last fine hair on the back of her neck prickle as thick, cold mist swept through the clearing suddenly and instantaneously. Her emerald eyes sought out Kakashi's instinctively, she could read the surprise in his expression as well.

"It's the same as Zabuza's technique," Sakura said quietly.

He nodded and the impenetrable mist swallowed up Shikamaru and Ino, who had been standing just a couple of feet away.

In an undertone, Kakashi told her, "Take one of the soldier pills I gave you. Stay close to me."

And even though he was standing right next to her, she watched in horror as he became engulfed in the thick white mist. She couldn't see anything at all and couldn't sense any chakra signatures, how was she meant to know when the next attack was coming? The soldier pill crunched between her teeth as she bit into it and then chakra flooded through her, a strange sensation after going so long without it.

Team Hawk had to be here. Suigetsu was a Mist ninja so he was the only one that could be responsible for this jutsu, if she found him and took him out then the jutsu would subside. But how was she meant to find him?

There was a startled shout some few feet away from her and she realised with a jolt that it belonged to Shikamaru. She made to run in the direction of the noise, but Kakashi's hand tightened around her wrist and pulled on it sharply, warning her not to go.

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" _Kakashi called out.

Hot flames tickled Sakura's skin and she shivered involuntarily at the unexpected warmth. It made no difference to the mist however, it remained as thick and as threatening as ever.

Then a voice, uncannily close to Sakura, commented, "Your fire jutsu's got nothing on Sasuke's, old man."

A muscular arm wrapped around her stomach suddenly and yanked violently, her breath was robbed from her as she was winded. There was a breezy laugh in her right ear and Suigetsu told her, "You're not getting away that easy."

There was a low hum as she formed a thin scalpel at her fingertips and her right hand smoothed over his cold arm, back and forth. He stiffened at the situation, unaccustomed to the touch of another person. She found the nerves she was looking for and dug her scalpel into his arm mercilessly, paralysing them. His arm fell deathly limp and she escaped easily, her green scalpel glowing luminously in the mist.

"Shit!" he cursed and dodged instinctively as the scalpel came dangerously close to his right cheek.

"I'm not going back with you, Suigetsu, and you can tell Sasuke that," she snarled at the fog, glancing around.

The fog began to swirl and shift to the right. Her eyes were drawn towards the movement and Suigetsu erupted from the white nothingness, his katana gleaming. She blocked it with her scalpel and he pressed her forwards with brute force. Taking a step backward to steady herself, he grinned at her.

"Sorry, but I don't think I'm going to listen to you," he taunted her.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed him away with a burst of chakra and brought her fist upwards. He darted away back into the mist before she could hit him and she watched the mist again, unsure of whether or not her hunch was correct. Could she find out where he was coming from, from the movement of the mist? The mist swirled once again, shifting to the left this time, and she instinctively stepped to the right.

Her hunch was correct.

Suigetsu's katana almost grazed her stomach and she trapped the flat of the blade between her two palms. He let out a small grunt of surprise, but then the hilt of the sword suddenly clattered to the ground as he released it instinctively. She swayed forwards to compensate for the weight and right into his fist. The blow sent her backwards and she moulded chakra to her foot, bringing it down on the ground with a terrific crack.

There was a loud, colourful expletive some few feet away as Suigetsu's ankle became trapped in the fissure that formed. Darting forwards, Sakura grabbed both of his wrists, rendering him immobile, and stepped on his other foot with a decisive stiletto.

His body erupted into water underneath her hands and soaked into her clothes, clinging to her body like rainwater. The chilling cold of the water shocked her and she flared her chakra, releasing it from every pore on her skin as heat, and it caused the water to begin to evaporate. Suigetsu reformed with a hiss, his hair singed and steaming, and his hand gripped her throat, his lilac eyes burning with anger.

She made no move to struggle and returned his angry gaze with a calm one of her own. He could break her neck in a split second with a simple squeeze, but he couldn't kill her. Team Hawk needed her alive. Sakura knew he couldn't either and she could have escaped easily, but she let him hold her suspended in the air.

_(-this is what I've chosen. This goes beyond protecting you, Naruto.)_

Inky darkness swallowed her vision of Suigetsu's furious lilac eyes, his silver hair and her comprehension of thought mercilessly.

* * *

**Chapter 8 : turning tables**

"_We're a team, bastard. It's about time you start relying on us."_

"Then I'll become a formal member of Akatsuki."

"**She said she was coming home! She said-"**

* * *

**Sakura and Sasuke are so bitter. Is Naruto also as jaded as the other two?  
**No. Naruto's Naruto, he's the only one that's constantly hopeful and optimistic. He's the only thing that's connecting Sakura and Sasuke and sort of like the light of their relationship. He's always radiating hope.

**Is there going to be a lemon?  
**I'm afraid not. I can't write a kissing scene without blushing, if I had to write a lemon I'd laugh like crazy all the way through it, not take it seriously and probably have a heart attack. I'm not mentally mature enough to write one of those yet. : S

**Is this sasusakunaru or only sasusaku/narusaku?  
**As much as I love harem stories, I don't think it would work with Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke's a possessive bastard, after all. It's going to end one or the other.

**Did Sasuke use **_**Goukakyuu no jutsu**_** in the last chapter because he knew it would save Sakura?  
**Um. No, actually. That was just Sasuke being completely caught off guard, he wouldn't go out of his way to let Sakura escape like that. He's only willing to let her go in this chapter because he doesn't want to waste time and energy.

**What's with the quotes at the beginning of each chapter?  
**I'm trying to make it so that most of them actually come from the Naruto series. You shouldn't take them literally, I choose the quotes because they pertain to the overall theme of the chapter with the exception of the first chapter. The very first quote is the theme of the entire story.

**Team Hawk is really loyal to Sasuke, huh?  
**I think so. I mean, during their kidnapping of the…um…eight tails, I think, they really showed huge relationship progress together. And this is set a little after the eight tails thing, so their bond definitely would have grown.

**What anime are you watching now?  
**Katekyo Hitman Reborn. It's actually really good, I've grown attached to it. The first twenty episodes are a bit annoying, but then they get into the whole epic storyline and it's like WHOA. It's becoming one of my favourites now, especially since Yamamoto is so hot. AND IT'S EXTREME!

**OH MY GOSH. OVER 140 REVIEWS FOR A SIX CHAPTER STORY?  
**THANK YOU SO MUCH, YOU GUYS. I love you all very much and I'm over the moon about this. AHAHAHA. Thank you so much for reviewing, I'm really happy you all do.

* * *

Hm.

Ever wondered what that grey and green button in the middle of the screen near to the very bottom of the page that says 'Review this story/chapter' does?

So have I. But I'm too scared to press it myself, so maybe you should and tell me what happens. : )

- _selandora_


	8. turning tables

**Chapter 8: turning tables**

"_Like there's any chance, that someone who can't save his friend, can become Hokage. Don't you think so…Sasuke?"  
- __Naruto_

* * *

Madara's voice was veiled in mild amusement, but Sasuke had learned to read the anger beneath it. "I understand you almost let the hostage escape?"

The rain struck Sasuke's face desperately, as though to drive him away from the ancient Uchiha, but he remained steadfast. His eyes locked with Madara's in a clash of crimson as a staring contest ensued.

"We retrieved her and completed our mission successfully," Sasuke said curtly in response.

Zetsu watched Sasuke through smug golden eyes and it unsettled Sasuke. His expression was knowing and Sasuke wondered not for the first time why Zetsu was even there.

Madara's eyes glinted and he demanded, "You weren't going to report it though, were you? I had to find out through Zetsu-"

"You have no right to send spies after me." Sasuke spat out the word 'spies' with a special kind of resentment.

"You work for me, Sasuke. I have all the right in the world, if my subordinates give me reason to suspect them," Madara replied coolly. "Team Hawk will have to take responsibility."

Sasuke's jaw tightened and he fought to keep from lashing out at Zetsu, who had taken his place beside Madara, watching him through those infuriating golden eyes. The two of them exchanged a knowing look that infuriated Sasuke to no end, they were always so condescending towards him.

"Actually Madara-sama, it was Suigetsu's fault the hostage got away," Zetsu informed him.

"Suigetsu is not your subordinate. We agreed that Team Hawk would remain under my control and not Akatsuki's, you can't punish him as long as he's a part of Team Hawk," Sasuke argued, his voice rising.

"Then as the only proper member of Akatsuki, you'll have to take the blame," Madara informed him.

And Zetsu's face was proud, his eyes gleaming with joy. He was finally getting revenge on Sasuke for saving Sakura during his precious time to torture her. The anger simmered like a sickness beneath Sasuke's skin and it was so tempting to reach out and punch the mutant, it would only take a few seconds and Zetsu wouldn't be expecting it-

Suigetsu materialised seemingly out of nowhere, his silver hair plastered to his face with rain and Sasuke turned his head to the side as Suigetsu's sandals slapped against the floor noisily. He balled his fists but said nothing as Suigetsu took his place at Sasuke's side, lilac eyes flaring.

"I'll take responsibility," Suigetsu said firmly.

"Suigetsu, go downstairs," Sasuke ordered him.

"I don't need you to cover my ass for me, Sasuke," he snarled angrily.

Zetsu's eyes glinted. "It's a shame you can't control your team any better."

Sasuke stiffened at that and without warning, his Sharingan began to whirl furiously, sharp stars forming in his eyes. He glared at Zetsu, who almost flinched, and Suigetsu grabbed Sasuke by the arm tightly just in case he lunged at him.

"He's not worth it," Suigetsu told Sasuke, his voice deliberately loud and spiteful. Zetsu bristled and his eyes narrowed dangerously at Suigetsu, who returned his glare easily.

"Suigetsu, I'm sure you heard that I can't punish you as long as you remain a part of Team Hawk? You have to be a formal member of Akatsuki," Madara explained.

_(Suigetsu, don't do anything _stupid-)

"Then I'll become a formal member."

The raindrops splattered against the top of the building, ringing eerily as they struck metal over and over again. Sasuke's eyes widened against his own will and Suigetsu's face betrayed not even the slightest hint of doubt, his lilac gaze steely.

Then slowly, a smile spread across Madara's face.

"It's settled, then. You no longer need to be punished for Suigetsu's actions, Sasuke," Madara said calmly.

As Sasuke and Suigetsu made their way back down the winding narrow staircase, a tense silence fell between them.

Then Sasuke told him curtly, "You shouldn't have taken the punishment."

"It was mine to take, bastard. For a guy who defected from Konoha, you've still got all their useless ideals engraved into your head," Suigetsu snapped irritably.

Sasuke's eyes flashed warningly. "That has nothing to do with this."

Suigetsu stopped and glared at him. "You wouldn't have said anything, would you? You would've just let them blame you for everything and let Zetsu torture you-"

"You shouldn't have joined Akatsuki," Sasuke told him sharply.

"You shouldn't have either," Suigetsu snarled. "We were fine before we joined, we were more powerful _then,_ but now it's just all these rules and punishments and missions. We're just wasting time!"

"If we fight alongside Akatsuki, we'll be able to fight Konoha more effectively."

"Don't tell me you actually believe that shit!" Suigetsu hissed viciously.

Suigetsu's lilac gaze flickered and then he continued in a quieter, bitter voice, "Don't you see how much you're hurting Karin? She loves you so much and I know she doesn't say it, but it destroys her every time she has to watch you go to Zetsu to take our punishments."

Something shifted in Sasuke's eyes.

"We're a team, bastard. It's about damn time you start relying on us," Suigetsu told him, his voice raw.

"You don't understand anything," Sasuke said quietly.

Suigetsu stiffened, clenching his hand into a fist. He breathed in and out, trying to control himself, _in, out, in, out, in_-

The fist flew, whistling through the air mercilessly, but Sasuke caught it easily without flinching. His gaze met Suigetsu's, utmost seriousness etched into every crimson hue, and although Suigetsu had been expecting Sasuke to react, he hadn't expected it in this detached, seemingly emotionless way.

He looked so much older, more _tired_ than Suigetsu had ever remembered. Something within Suigetsu seemed to snap at the sight of his expression and the recoil paralyzed him.

Sasuke released his hand. "Akatsuki doesn't trust Team Hawk. That's why they're trying to separate us."

Suigetsu's shocked silence enveloped both of them.

Sasuke's decisive voice was filled with finality. "You walked into their trap, Suigetsu."

* * *

Cold crept up Sakura's bare skin like insects, writhing against her body warmth in extreme joy, and she awoke with an instinctive shiver. The thick blankets around her petite frame had managed to slide onto the floor during the course of the night and she glared at them resentfully. Movement caught her attention and her emerald eyes flickered upwards to the balcony, then to Sasuke's dark silhouette against the railing.

She rose to her feet quietly and pulled the dark duvet around her shoulders, taking it with her as she made her way to the balcony door. It dragged across the ground like a cape, or a bride's trail, and it was almost ironic. The sound of the door opening was muted by a peal of thunder outside and she lingered in the doorway, watching him.

"You'll get sick if you stay out there," she told him.

He didn't even turn to look at her. "Hn."

As she watched him, she noticed how the grey fabric clung to his body like that of a skeleton's, how defined his cheekbones were. It had been so easy for him to hide his weight from her before because he had always worn billowing clothing, but when the wet fabric clung to him like a second skin…he looked so sick.

She told him, "Get in here, Sasuke."

He promptly ignored her.

Her hands tightened around the covers and she secured them around her shoulders. She stepped onto the balcony, rainwater lapped at her feet from where it had collected on the pale tiled flooring, and her steps made soft splashes as she approached him. The covers dragged, dragged, _dragged_ against the floor, darkening at the edges where the water seeped into it.

Sakura leaned beside him on the railing. His crimson eyes flashed to her for a moment, but he let her remain.

She began, "You know-"

A crash of thunder cut her off and illuminated all of Amegakure. The image was clearer than any she had ever seen before, she could make out every single person walking on the street far below, every street sign, every window and every curtain- but it only lasted for a second and was gone again.

Sakura continued, "Naruto will probably try even harder to come and get me."

"Probably," he agreed in a monotone.

"He won't be able to, though. He hasn't been able to so far and Tsunade will probably start drugging him to keep him unconscious," Sakura murmured.

"And you don't mind that?" Sasuke asked.

Sarcasm had always been her greatest defence, and she hoisted it before her as though it were a flag, hiding the apprehension and fear within her. "Of course I don't mind. Naruto and the council get on perfectly well-"

He interrupted her little tirade, his tone serving to infuriate her, "Sakura."

"Why do you care? You shouldn't care. You don't have a _right_ to care," Sakura snarled at him angrily, dropping her façade instantly. "You forfeited that when you betrayed us three years ago."

There was a loud, quick exhalation of air with a note of mockery clinging to its tendrils. She realised with mounting fury that Sasuke had laughed at her, and he drew himself to his full height, towering over her. "Do you want me to deny that?"

"No, but I expect you to take full responsibility for the consequences," Sakura answered quickly, sharply.

Sasuke's reply was more a statement than a question, "The consequences."

"Do you know how many people suffered because of you? How many people were hurt?" she demanded.

"If you want me to go and write each of them long heartfelt apologies, you've got the wrong person," he told her, his voice wearing thin with impatience.

"No. I'd only expect that of actual human beings," she retorted spitefully.

"If I tell you what you want to hear, will you leave me alone?"

"You don't even know what I want to hear," she hissed at him.

"No, but I have a pretty good idea," he replied.

She challenged him, "Then tell me, if you're so sure."

The rain struck their faces relentlessly, as though the skies were trying in vain to pacify them, to keep them from hurting each other more than they already had. But the silent pleas fell on deaf ears that wouldn't have cared anyways. His face drew dangerously close to hers and she refused to shy away, refused to flinch at the close proximity. She could make out every hue of his red eyes, the blood reds and the rubies, the scarlets and the crimsons, but felt nothing but pure, unbridled anger at the sight of them.

His voice was condescending, each word slow and enunciated as though he were communicating to a foreigner who didn't speak his language. "I'll go back to Konoha with you."

Silence fell between the two of them.

Sakura was uncannily quiet, her face white and her eyes unreadable chips of emerald.

- **I love you with all my heart! **what did that even mean? _but it all seemed to make sense on the darkest night of their lives on a lonely cobblestone path with two even lonelier children -_

Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it contained all the rage of a scream. "Don't insult me."

"Why else would you come back to Akatsuki?" Sasuke pointed out.

"I would like to remind you that your team mates _dragged me_ back to Amegakure."

"Kakashi would have given you soldier pills, so you would have been at an advantage. You would be at full strength while Suigetsu was wounded from the last fight, not to mention he was using an unfamiliar weapon. Karin wouldn't have been fighting, she would have been too concentrated cloaking their chakra signatures. You should have been able to get away from them," Sasuke explained.

"Not everything goes according to plan," she ground out through clenched teeth.

"If you're trying to spy on Akatsuki, you stand no chance. You have no way of contacting Konoha from here and if you try to leave, you will be killed," Sasuke stated.

"You wouldn't kill me. I'm too valuable a hostage," Sakura said confidently.

His words came faster, angrier, "I've told you before- killing you is the most effective way to get Naruto to come to Amegakure. Zetsu would have let you die in the torture chamber, do you understand?"

"Then why didn't you just let him kill me? Why did you save me?" she shouted at him furiously.

"Does it matter? I saved your _life_," Sasuke snarled at her.

"I didn't ask you to! Why did you save me?"

Sasuke demanded, "Why do you always need a reason for everything?"

"**Because I don't trust you!**" she screamed at him.

The sounds of her heavy breathing filled the air, seeming to drown out the sound of rainfall. Her emerald eyes blazed furiously and the anger began to dissipate from Sasuke, only to be replaced by a chilling, unreadable indifference.

(_you did once._)

* * *

The ring on Suigetsu's finger began to throb with a striking intensity and he jumped at the unfamiliar sensation, staring at it. He had had an Akatuski ring before, but not a proper one that allowed Madara to contact them directly. Sasuke was the only one who had one like that, since he was the only proper member of Akatsuki.

But not anymore.

A low, intrusive voice that made Suigetsu tense raced through his mind, _come to the roof._

As he exited his room, he heard a loud click as Sasuke locked his own door. Sakura was presumably locked inside, but Suigetsu avoided Sasuke's gaze. He made his way to the roof alone, while Sasuke stayed behind and summoned Karin and Juugo.

Madara wasn't the only one there. Flickering holograms of Pein, Konan and Kisame shivered against the raindrops, their eyes glowing eerily. Suigetsu tensed at the sight of Zetsu and made a point of taking a spot as far away from him as possible. They all stood in a cold, uncomfortable silence as they waited for the rest of Team Hawk to arrive.

The door to the roof opened with a loud screech, announcing their arrival. Every head turned and stared as Sasuke took his place near Suigetsu, who balled his fists.

"Where is the hostage?" Madara asked, his eyes intense.

Sasuke replied darkly, "I locked her in my room."

"You're sure she won't escape?" Zetsu said mockingly, a strange light gleaming in his eyes.

Suigetsu's expression contorted in anger, it would be so easy to lunge across the circle and grab the bastard by his slimy neck-

"I'm sure," Sasuke said, his words as sharp as knives.

Suigetsu blinked in surprise at his furious (by Sasuke's standards) reaction. Normally, Sasuke wouldn't have graced a comment like that with a response, but there was something off about him. His stance was tense, his face was white with the remnants of anger and his crimson eyes flared threateningly. Sasuke was never openly angry, not to the point that he began to snap, and even Zetsu seemed taken aback by his blatant hostility.

"Sasuke," Madara warned him, as though it had all been his fault.

Suigetsu's jaw tightened. Of course the bastard would take Zetsu's side. Sasuke fell silent.

"I called you all here to inform you that there is going to be a change in teams," Madara began.

Faces turned upwards in curiosity, stares fixated upon the natural born leader. Madara was unaffected by the sight of all the cold, hardened gazes.

"This concerns mainly Team Hawk."

A stunned silence fell over the members of Team Hawk.

Karin was the first to recover and she instantly pointed out, "You can't do that. Team Hawk's members only take orders from Sasuke-kun, not Akatsuki, so you can't reassign-"

"I'm presuming you haven't told the rest of your team, Sasuke?" Madara spoke over her, as though Karin didn't exist.

Juugo turned to Sasuke, his honey gaze confused. He asked in his quiet, calm voice, "Sasuke-san? What's going on?"

Sasuke refused to say something, his crimson eyes locked with Madara's. If only looks could kill.

Suigetsu was the one to explain. "I joined Akatsuki. I'm no longer a part of Team Hawk."

"You…what?" Karin asked in a stunned silence. Juugo looked as though he couldn't quite believe it and he looked at Sasuke for clarification, but he was still staring emotionlessly at Madara.

"Houzuki Suigetsu, your new partner is Kisame," Madara said.

Kisame blinked in surprise at the mention of his name. Suigetsu's reaction wasn't nearly as mild.

"I'm not working with him," Suigetsu ground out immediately.

Madara said coldly, "You have no say in the matter."

Suigetsu snarled, "I'll do whatever I want to and-"

Karin grabbed him instinctively, knowing it wouldn't be long before he became violent, and she warned him, "Suigetsu."

"I never agreed to being reassigned! I just said I'd become a member, and taking me out of Team Hawk would completely destroy the dynamic of the team!" Suigetsu argued.

"The rest of Team Hawk will have to adapt," Madara said.

Karin strained to hold Suigetsu back and she pleaded with Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun, please do something!"

In an emotionless voice, Sasuke told her, "Suigetsu is no longer a part of Team Hawk. I can do nothing for him."

"You bastard, I only joined because of you!" Suigetsu snarled at him angrily, rounding on Sasuke now.

Juugo's voice was so quiet that it was drowned out by the arguing. He began quietly, "Stop…"

Suigetsu shouted, "I was doing you a favour!"

"Stop it…"

"Suigetsu, calm down-"

"Let me go, Karin! You could be a little more grateful, I didn't have to do this for you, Sasuke! You could at least back me up on this one!"

"You left Team Hawk, Suigetsu. I don't care what happens to you now."

"You fucker-"

"_Stop it!" _Juugo roared.

The sound was raw and painful to listen to, it grated against their ears and floods of menacing chakra filled the area, choking, choking, _choking_. The force of it caused the people closest to him to take steps backwards to balance themselves and the telltale onyx marks spread across his skin, swarming on him like insects and his once warm golden eyes were two furious explosions in his dark, dark face-

Karin gasped in agony as Juugo raked his claws down her back, the force throwing her forwards into Suigetsu. He caught her and the slick feel of blood covered his hands as he grabbed her in an attempt to steady her. Juugo roared and Suigetsu darted backwards, taking Karin with him, but he wasn't fast enough, he couldn't be fast enough when Juugo was like this-

Just as Juugo raised his arms to attack Karin for the second time, he was thrown across the roof by an unseen force. There was a loud metallic groan as he hit the water tank and before Juugo could turn and attack again, Sasuke grabbed him by the chin and forced him to look at him.

"Juugo," Sasuke called his name, his Sharingan eyes whirling.

At the mere sound of Sasuke's voice, Juugo's eyes widened in shock. The insanity began to fade from them, taking the curse seal marks with it, and his body began to sag against the wall of the water tanke. The blood on his fingers was testimony to his actions and he stared at Karin over Sasuke's shoulder, taking in the full horror of what he had done. Sasuke released Juugo, taking a step backwards from him.

Suigetsu's arms were wrapped protectively around Karin, who winced as the rainwater seeped into her open wound, and he glared at Juugo from where he stood.

In a very small voice, Juugo began, "I-I'm sorry. I don't…I can't-"

Madara's harsh voice interrupted him, "Everyone but Team Hawk and Suigetsu, leave the roof now."

They disappeared immediately.

"I just wanted to stop you fighting," Juugo said quietly. "I didn't mean-"

"I know, Juugo," Sasuke told him, his tone gentler.

"When were you going to tell me about your team mate's condition, Sasuke?" Madara demanded in a dangerous, dangerous voice.

Sasuke didn't even turn to look at him and he said nothing in response.

"It's a medical condition, but Sasuke can control it," Karin said weakly, Suigetsu's arms tightening around her as though warning her not to say anything at all.

"Only Sasuke can?" Madara asked, his words as sharp as a kunai.

Silence followed.

Madara began, "You do understand this will jeopardize an attack on Konoha? If your team mate goes into this frenzy of his while you aren't around and he turns on fellow Akatsuki members-"

"I am aware of this," Sasuke said curtly.

"Have you done anything to cure this? Have you gone to any medic-nin?" Madara pressed him.

"They were unable to do anything for him."

"And you didn't think to tell me?" Madara asked again.

Sasuke didn't reply.

Madara smirked inwardly. Team Hawk was only making it easier and easier for him to separate them.

* * *

**Chapter 9 : the Hippocratic oath**

"You had my sword all along-"

"_Will I still be of use to you? If I'm…normal?"_

"**I'm a medic, Sasuke! I would never kill him!"**

* * *

**So, what's your excuse this time?**  
Do you know how many times I rewrote this bastard of a chapter? Four times. Not including the other half written arguments Sasuke and Sakura had. I got so frustrated, I left it alone and then before I could start writing again, I was whisked to the Philippines. Luckily, I got flashes of inspiration while I was there, so everything should be smooth sailing from now on. Until maybe chapter 15 onwards, but that's still a long way away.

**Aren't you forgetting something? About your summer holidays, maybe?  
**Ok, maybe not completely smooth sailing. I'm leaving next Thursday for America, the land of super huge portions and cheap English manga. I am going to get so fat. But, what I actually meant to say was, that I'll be there until the end of August, so don't trust that my updates will be regular anymore. Once I'm back I'll try and get back into my one chapter every two weeks thing.

**Wait a minute. Is the whole Team Hawk isn't controlled by Akatsuki thing true?  
**I don't think it is. I just pulled it out of a hat. I should probably stay canon, but it's so much more fun this way. : )

**Suigetsu and Kisame? Aren't they going to **_**kill **_**each other?  
**I don't think Kisame's ever wanted to kill Suigetsu. Suigetsu's more like an annoying fly to him, so he just ignores him. I am certain Kisame is stronger than Suigetsu, so he'll be able to handle himself.

**Sakura and Sasuke's relationship is really messed up. I thought they were better friends now!  
**Sakura's a paranoid bitch, so she ruins everything. Understandably so, Sasuke did completely shatter her trust in him and it'll be difficult for him to regain that. Their relationship is really one step forwards, two steps back. It becomes stable later on, don't worry. (well, that's what I'm planning…)

**Where's Naruto?  
**Um. About Naruto. (_selandora takes this as her cue to run for the hills._)

**It's a shame you can't write lemons.  
**I tried the other day. I couldn't stop laughing, especially when I had to write about him…putting that…in that…oh no, I'm blushing.

**NO YOU RUINED THE TEAM HAWK DYNAMIC, YOU WHORE.  
**It was painful. I liked them a lot, but there's always been major tension between Suigetsu, Sasuke and Juugo. (not Juugo and Sasuke, but Juugo and Suigetsu I mean.) They'll all kiss and make up later. Wait…kiss and make up…Sasuke and Suigetsu…

…

I like the sound of that actually.

**You might be giving up on Naruto? WHY?  
**Not the fanfiction. I've been with it too long, it's like a mole on my skin now. If you didn't get that strange analogy that even I didn't completely understand, I can't separate myself from it ever. I think. (You can get laser surgeries to get moles removed, right?) Anyways, I actually meant the manga. Everything's really slow now. It all comes down to the new chapter, because if I don't see Sasuke's six pack gleaming with sweat as punches a hole through someone I will be extremely angry.

**So you like Sasuke now?  
**Yeah. I feel like such a hypocrite.

**I noticed you've been writing for other fandoms. (traitor.) Are you planning on 'expanding', so to speak?  
**I'm getting back into Kingdom Hearts, so I tried that. I want to do a multichap for it, but it's not going to be a long angsty one like Say or Everything or the Defining series. I've got ideas for a One Piece one (yes. I like it better than Naruto. I'm sorry.) and I want to do a Hitman REBORN! one, because Yamamoto and Gokudera are so sexehhh.

* * *

**If you want Suigetsu to use his real sword in the next chapter, please review.**

**And yes. His **_**real**_** sword.**

…

…

…**heehee.**

_- selandora_


	9. no one wants to lose them twice

"_Wouldn't you want to avenge your loved ones if they were killed?"_  
"_Now that you say it, I might avenge them…but you see, all my loved ones are already dead."_  
- Sasuke and Kakashi

* * *

The metal stairs clunked beneath Kakashi's feet as he descended. _Clunk. Clunk. Clunk._

A lonely door stared at him from the end of the hallway and the silence pressed in on him like poison gas, choking him. His navy mask was too tight all of a sudden, too constricting, but he resisted the urge to remove it. His footsteps were silent against the floor, he was treading more carefully than usual.

He opened the door and entered like a shadow, gliding to a chair that sat before a wall of one way glass. There was a room behind the glass wall and his onyx eye followed its occupant as he passed back and forth.

"Naruto," he said finally.

Naruto stopped suddenly, looking towards the glass. Kakashi knew Naruto couldn't see him, but couldn't help but feel the hairs on the back of his neck prickle as Naruto's face contorted in anger. Naruto made his way to the glass, forcibly calm.

His voice trembling with the effort not to scream at Kakashi, Naruto asked, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"That's not a nice way to greet your sensei."

Bitterly, he pointed out, "You haven't come to see me once since I've been thrown in here. What are you doing here now?"

"If you wanted me to come see you, you should've said," Kakashi replied mildly.

Something snapped within Naruto and he smashed a fist against the glass so hard, the explosion of sound nearly made Kakashi flinch. His voice was harsh with anger as he shouted, "**What are you doing down here when Sakura's still with Akatsuki?**"

Kakashi was silent, staring at Naruto.

Naruto continued furiously, "You should be out there saving her! I bet you haven't even tried looking for her again, you bastard! You don't even care, do you? You didn't care when Sasuke left, Sakura and I were the ones who kept trying to bring him back while you just sat on your ass and helped out if you were in the fucking mood!"

His blue eyes searched desperately for Kakashi through the one way glass, but to no avail. There was no sound on the other side of the glass and it only served to anger Naruto even more.

"I know you're still there. Don't you _dare_ ignore me."

Again, Kakashi said nothing.

The expression on Naruto's face changed ever so slightly, desperation and self hatred beginning to bleed into the white spaces. "If I could get out of here, I'd-"

His voice cracked suddenly and Naruto fell uncannily quiet. Kakashi watched the Adams apple in Naruto's throat bob as he swallowed painfully and his eyes begin to flicker tellingly.

Kakashi stood up from the chair, walking right up to the glass in front of Naruto. He slid his hands into his pockets and observed Naruto, his onyx eye unreadable.

Silence fell between the two of them.

Only ages later was it broken by the sound of a door clicking closed.

* * *

The hospital was an eerie sterile white that hurt Sasuke's failing eyes. Not for the first time, his crimson irises flicked to the corner of his eyes to look at Juugo.

Juugo sat on a cold metal bench and he hadn't moved at all in the past half hour. Everything about him seemed taut- he had clasped his hands together so tightly in his lap that they were white, and the muscles on his arms bulged with the force he was exerting. His amber gaze was fixated on his hands, as though he could burn through them, and Sasuke's eyes flickered away from him.

_Shouldn't Akatsuki members get priority in the hospital?_

Sasuke shifted ever slightly, growing impatient.

Juugo began hesitantly, "Do you think-"

His voice broke suddenly as he lost the courage to continue. Sasuke didn't so much as look at him, but the way his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly revealed that he was listening to Juugo. However, Juugo didn't continue and lapsed into a thoughtful silence; his brow furrowing almost painfully.

Sasuke made no move to press Juugo any further. A couple of medics passed, their heads bowed quietly in an attempt not to draw attention to themselves. Sasuke and Juugo's dark cloaks clashed violently with the white of the hospital; they were impossible to miss. He watched as the medics scuffled past and felt a spike of disgust at how pathetic they seemed.

"Do you think they'll be able to cure me?" Juugo asked, his voice quiet and innocently, painfully hopeful.

Sasuke said nothing for a few moments. Juugo waited for his answer patiently and it irked Sasuke that he displayed his emotions so easily, even Naruto could manipulate him without any trouble.

Truthfully, Sasuke answered, "I don't know."

Another silence fell between them.

"If they cure me, I won't be powerful anymore though. I won't be useful to you anymore," Juugo pointed out, raising his head to look at Sasuke.

Sasuke could see his expression out of the corner of his eyes, see the worry and fear etched into sleep-deprived features. Sasuke didn't reply, he merely stared straight ahead.

Juugo released his hands and breathed in deeply.

"You should leave me behind. I'm getting in the way of your goal because I can't control my power. And even if I could, I wouldn't be nearly as powerful. I'll only make problems for you either way," he told Sasuke.

- **take me with you **_Sakura would have done anything to stay with him _to help him_ and her words pounded against his resolve like hammers _-

"Do you want me to leave you behind?" Sasuke asked.

"If I'm getting in your way-"

Sasuke repeated again firmly, "Do you want me to leave you behind, Juugo?"

_(I'm sick of selflessness-)_

Juugo was taken aback and shut his mouth, his golden eyes swirling with hesitancy. Sasuke returned his gaze, waiting for an answer.

"I…don't," Juugo murmured.

Sasuke inclined his head. Juugo seemed to deflate and his entire body sagged in relief.

"Juugo-sama?" an unfamiliar voice addressed them.

A male medic, dressed from head to toe in the typical white uniform, glanced up from his clipboard at Juugo. He didn't so much as acknowledge Sasuke, which surprised him to an extent. He stared at the medic, as though trying to unravel him and understand him, but even his unsettling gaze did nothing against him.

"My consultation room is just down the hall. You won't be leaving for a while, I'm afraid," he explained to Juugo.

As he led Juugo off, Juugo glanced behind at Sasuke; as though he doubted his decision to go with the medic. Sasuke already had his back turned to him however and he grew farther and farther away.

In the midst of the overwhelming whiteness, his dark figure looked isolated and almost lonely.

Sasuke returned to the compound on his own, the silence of the journey alone striking him more than it usually did. Pulling open the door to the sitting room, the loneliness dulled as he laid eyes on who was in the sitting room. Karin sat on the pale couch just outside of Sasuke's door like a watch dog- he had asked her to keep an eye on Sakura's chakra signature and make sure she didn't escape while he was gone.

He nodded ever so slightly without even looking at her, making his way single-mindedly towards his own bedroom. Sasuke was beginning to take Sakura more seriously than he had before; he knew she was intelligent and could have worked something out.

There was no way in hell Sasuke was leaving any of Team Hawk alone in a room with Sakura though. Sakura would only provoke Karin into fighting her and Suigetsu hadn't completely lost his twisted addiction to torture. Juugo was self explanatory, but hopefully with the treatment he was being given at the hospital, Sasuke would be able to order him to do so in the future.

As he entered the room, his Sharingan narrowed on Sakura's still figure lying on the couch. She was fast asleep, her small body rising and falling with deep, relaxed breaths that Sasuke nearly envied.

_She didn't even notice me come into the room. If I was an assassin, she'd be dead by now, _he thought in complete annoyance. He didn't know why he cared so much that she was still so naïve- it didn't (**shouldn't**) matter to him whether she died or not.

He removed his Akatsuki cloak and tossed it haphazardly onto the bed. Running a hand through his dark spikes, he made his way silently towards the balcony doors and slid them open. They glided open and the cold air wrapped itself around him like an old, desperate lover. He embraced it, and instead of stepping into the rain and drenching himself to the bone like usual, he settled for leaning against the icy metal doorframe to look at Amegakure below him.

The village had always looked wrong and grotesque to him- the harsh buildings were too tall and the dark streets too narrow and forever empty. But the rain muted all of the colours, like a dimmer on a television screen, to the point that they no longer pained his failing eyes.

- **because I don't trust you! **-

His folded arms tightened against his chest as unexplainable anger coursed through him. There were too many things weighing on his mind: Madara's actions against him, the loss of Suigetsu, Juugo's treatment at the hospital.

It was ridiculous how his argument with Sakura seemed to be just as important.

The next couple of days passed in stiff awkwardness- neither Sakura or Sasuke said anything to one another if it could be helped. And even when they had to, their words were curt and cold, as though they could cut each other with their sharpness.

Without Suigetsu, Team Hawk was less animated and Karin had become noticeably quieter. Suigetsu wasn't in the compound at all, he had left with Kisame on a mission, and Sasuke refused to feel guilty for what had happened. It was evident that Juugo and Karin blamed him to an extent, but neither would say anything.

"What happened between you and Sakura-san?" Juugo asked Sasuke quietly, pulling out a medical syringe from a plastic packet.

Sasuke's arms had been folded, and at Juugo's words, his hands tightened ever so slightly around his upper arms. The movement didn't go unnoticed by Juugo, who was inserting a long needle into the plastic syringe and holding it up to the light. Juugo had been given a series of liquids that would calm him and sort out the hormone imbalance in his body over a period of time- as long as he took his injections every night.

"Nothing happened," Sasuke stated.

Juugo said nothing, but his silence relayed his disbelief. He stabbed the needle into his right arm and slowly injected the transparent liquid into his body.

"In the past, or right now?" Juugo questioned, his voice taking on a near whimsical tone.

- **take me with you **_and to be honest, nothing ever _had _happened, nothing had ever happened between Sasuke and Sakura and their relationship had never changed _but it was strange how he almost felt bitter -

"Both."

Juugo removed the needle from his arm and laid it on the table beside him, massaging the point of insertion. He began, "It must be difficult for her to be here."

"It would be difficult for anyone," Sasuke said curtly, as though Juugo had insulted him.

"I suppose," Juugo replied, but Sasuke swore he could hear the unspoken end of his sentence.

_(- but it must be even harder for her with you here.)_

* * *

- **I won't believe it until I see you **_Naruto had told her and even though she had made it her mantra to never rely on others for help anymore, she subconsciously loved that there were people who cared for her and were willing to help-_

Sakura opened her eyes tiredly. Lights from the buildings outside filtered through the glass balcony doors and cast shadows on the pale ceiling, they flickered every now and again like candlelight. Her throat was so dry she swore she could hear it crack when she breathed; she swore that Sasuke could hear it too. She needed water and slowly, quietly, she sat up.

Her emerald gaze came to rest on Sasuke's sleeping figure, his back turned blatantly away from her. His ebony hair was splayed about his head like a halo and it angered her that despite his twisted personality, he could still manage to look so angelic and pure. She swung her feet over the side of the couch, taking extra care to be as silent as possible, and glided over to the bedroom door.

She started as Sasuke spoke suddenly, "Where are you going?"

It was the first thing he had said to her in almost four days.

Recovering quickly, she answered sharply, "To get water."

There was a rustle of blankets behind her and she could sense Sasuke approaching. She laid a hand on the doorknob as his hand gripped her shoulder, preventing her from going any further.

"There's water in the bathroom," he pointed out.

Indignantly, Sakura said, "I'm not drinking that- I know how bad the water purification system is here in Amegakure. If I get sick here, I don't trust any of you to make an attempt to keep me alive."

A silence fell between them.

She willed herself not to look back at him- she was still furious with Sasuke and wanted to make that absolutely clear to him. If he thought that she had forgiven him for being such a bastard-

Sakura tensed as his cold hand covered hers on the doorknob. Immediately, her mind lurched into overdrive as it screamed at her to snatch her hand back, to smash him in the face, but his grip was too strong. He turned the doorknob silently and fluorescent light spilled in from the sitting room. As though nothing had happened, he brushed past her and made his way towards the kitchen.

Sakura made a point of racing to the kitchen and reaching it before him. When she reached the doorway however, she came to an abrupt halt. Words escaped her as she stared at what lay on the cool, tiled floor and remembering Sasuke, she turned suddenly.

"You don't need to come with me," she ground out firmly.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her, taking a step forwards. Sakura tensed her entire body and spread her arms, blocking the entrance to the kitchen like a wizened gatekeeper. He opened his mouth to retort, but the sounds of soft, feminine sniffling cut him off. The sounds had come from behind Sakura.

Immediately, he forced his way past her. She resisted him to the best of her ability, but he was too fast. With an overwhelming sense of defeat, Sakura lingered awkwardly in the doorway, watching Sasuke for a reaction.

Karin was curled into the corner of the counter on the floor, her face buried in her knees.

Sasuke called her name, "Karin."

Her head jolted upwards automatically, as though he had pressed a button on a remote, and Sakura could see the tear tracks on her cheeks, her puffy pink eyes. She averted her eyes, feeling truly sorry for Karin. She would never have wanted anyone to see her like that, at her most vulnerable.

(_but Sasuke has, hasn't he-)_

Karin began to wipe her eyes, looking away self consciously. She rose to her feet and stood rigidly before the two of them, refusing to meet either of their gazes. Sasuke continued to watch her, his expression unreadable.

Then he moved towards her. Karin's eyes widened and she instinctively relaxed, anticipating his touch. However, he merely reached past her to the tap, flicking the water dispenser on. The water began to run and he began to fill up a tall glass, handing it to Sakura once he was done. Sakura stared at him in disbelief as he then proceeded to leave the kitchen, fully expecting her to follow him, and then she looked back at Karin hesitantly.

"What are you looking at?" Karin snarled at her once Sasuke was out of earshot.

The attack didn't faze Sakura at all, she knew that Karin was understandably just being defensive. Sakura told her quietly, "If you wash your face and then press ice against your eyes, they won't be puffy in the morning."

The strangest look flitted over Karin's face; one of mixed gratefulness, shock and suspicion. Sakura took this as her cue to leave her alone in the kitchen and return to the bedroom.

Sasuke was waiting for her and he demanded, "What did you say to her?"

Sakura met his gaze easily and said tiredly, "What I wish somebody had told me three years ago."

The next morning at breakfast, Karin was absent. Nobody said anything on the matter, but the tension in the air was palpable.

Juugo then said quietly, "Suigetsu left with Kisame yesterday afternoon."

Sasuke understood.

* * *

The knock at Sasuke's door was so weak that Sasuke nearly missed it. He rose to his feet, approaching the door and sensed a strange, fluctuating chakra signature outside. He pulled the door open and came face to face with Juugo.

His Sharingan picked up every last detail, the cold sweat across his pale forehead, the yellow of his eyes, the way his body swayed precariously and his laboured breathing.

Weakly, he managed, "Sasuke-san."

Then he collapsed forwards and into Sasuke. He exhaled sharply as the tall, seven foot man smashed into him, barely hanging onto the vestiges of consciousness. With a jolt of surprise, Sasuke realised that his skin was burning up. His mouth setting into a grim line, he moulded chakra to his arms and did his best to awkwardly put Juugo on his back.

"What are you doing?" Sakura demanded, rushing over and trying to stop him.

Sasuke pushed her away, beginning to make his way to the hospital.

She insisted, "Sasuke, stop, if you move him you'll only aggravate him more-"

"Then what am I meant to do? Leave him here to die?" Sasuke interrupted sharply.

Sakura blinked, taken aback at the ferocity of his statement. But then she wondered, _why did Juugo come to Sasuke and not straight to the hospital? _

- **stay behind me! **_Sasuke's words had been harsh, but he hadn't moved from his place as guardian in front of her and she _trusted him to keep her safe -

Sasuke's teeth grit and he tried again to shove past her, Juugo's long arms dangling in front of him as his laboured breaths puff-puffed against his ear. The back of his shirt was becoming soaked through with Juugo's ill sweat and Sakura moved to let him past.

As he did so, she suddenly blurted, "I can heal him for you."

"You really think I'd let you do that?" Sasuke asked sharply.

"I've taken the Hippocratic oath, I _have _to help anyone who needs me. If I did really want to kill him, I'd be stupid to do it now anyways. If I killed Juugo, you'd murder me before I'd be able to blink," Sakura pointed out.

Sasuke paused, his eyes narrowing at her. Juugo coughed then, his face going an unearthly white and his breaths coming slower…slower…

Sakura stepped aside as Sasuke returned, laying Juugo out on the sofa. Sakura went immediately to Juugo, her hands flitting over his body as she began to analyse the situation. She then held out a hand to Sasuke, as though asking for something.

When all he did was stare at it, she looked up at him and commented dryly, "I'm going to need chakra if you want me to help him."

Mouth setting into an irritable line, Sasuke took her hand into his and held it. Sakura shivered at the contact, forcing herself to look away, and Sasuke watched Juugo for a reaction. He began to flood chakra into her and she almost started at the unwarranted overflow of chakra. Gritting her teeth, she began to mould it to her fingers and pressed them against Juugo's bare skin.

As the chakra seeped into his bloodstream and travelled around his body, she frowned when it flowed sluggishly before coming to a complete stop. Retracting the chakra, she pressed her hands right over his chest where his heart was and inhaled sharply in surprise at what she found.

"What?" Sasuke demanded.

"There's a clot in his coronary artery so there's no blood flow to the heart. His cardiac tissue is dying," she explained.

Sasuke then asked, "But what's causing it?"

Shaking her head, she said, "It's not cholesterol or anything you'd normally find in the body. I'm going to extract the clot now. Can you control the flow of chakra you're giving me?"

"What do you mean?" he questioned, growing irritable at how vague she was being.

"I mean stop pounding it in, just trickle it in slowly. I'm going to lose concentration if I have to control both the extraction and the flow of your chakra," she explained, completely calm.

As soon as she said it, there was a noticeable change. For once, she was so glad he always picked up on things quickly. She pressed her hand against Juugo's chest and split her chakra flow into two, forcing one to his actual heart to revive the cardiac tissue and the other into a scalpel that pierced his chest.

As soon as the first trickle of blood appeared on Juugo's pale skin, Sasuke's flow of chakra faltered momentarily. Sakura gritted her teeth and tried to make up for the fluctuation, but it returned to normal quickly.

The scalpel pierced Juugo's coronary artery and she moulded chakra around the incision she'd created, preventing any blood from leaking out. Furrowing her brow, she began to shift the scalpel so that it was pointed towards the blood clot. With a deep breath, she created a wall of chakra behind the clot so that when she extracted it, any smaller bits wouldn't escape.

She began to change the shape of the scalpel into a syringe, but in doing so she momentarily stopped the flow of chakra to the heart. In that instant, Juugo spasmed and she immediately stopped- retracting her chakra.

Sasuke visibly tensed.

- **you need to maintain an equal flow, or else it could go horribly wrong **_Tsunade had said, but even with Sakura's chakra control she was still struggling _-

Moulding her chakra into a scalpel, she repeated everything she had just done with careful precision- making sure to control her chakra. Once she found the clot again, she grit her teeth and tried to balance her chakra as she tried to extract it. But the shape of her syringe kept changing, she couldn't focus-

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Sasuke demanded.

Sakura hissed at him, "Just shut up and let me finish this."

He could see the scalpel flickering and morphing, never quite completing its transformation. She couldn't maintain it. A look of sheer panic flickered over Sakura's face. He didn't know what she was trying to do, but if Juugo's life depended on her, then he'd be damned if the chance to save him slid past-

His other hand, so much warmer than it had been earlier, closed around Sakura's. She jolted and nearly retracted her chakra again, but he controlled it- keeping the chakra flowing where it was meant to go. He was crouched behind her, his chest pressed flush against her back, and she felt her mind spin momentarily.

"Focus, Sakura," he told her, his breath ghosting her ear.

She snapped, "That's kind of difficult when you're so close."

His hand tightened around hers. "I'll help you."

He could feel her erratic heartbeat through her back, pounding against his chest. Slowly, he began to breathe in and out, in and out, and gradually her breathing rate slowed to match his.

"You just need to maintain the shape of the scalpel, correct?" he asked her.

She felt a small spike of indignation; _it's not that simple, bastard. _She didn't have enough time to explain it to him, and as his soft black hair brushed against the bare nape of her neck, she resisted the urge to shiver. If he could help her at least maintain the shape, she wouldn't have to work so hard to balance her flow.

Before she could respond, he was already helping her shape the scalpel into a syringe. He shut his eyes and she felt his long eyelashes brush against her cheekbone as he began to focus. The syringe brushed against the blood clot without losing shape and she began to slowly draw the clot into the syringe.

She didn't know how long they sat there, hearts keeping time with each other's heartbeat as they lost themselves to the operation. It felt like they had been working together for years and years and not just seconds; it was strange how they responded to each other perfectly.

(_do you feel like we're in Team 7 all over again too, Sasuke?)_

After what seemed an eternity, she finally finished saving Juugo and the jade green glow faded from her hands. She slumped backwards into Sasuke. He let her rest there, watching as her eyelids fluttered shut and her pale eyelashes ghosted her cheeks like butterflies.

Sasuke's question sounded more like a definite statement. "He'll live."

Too tired to form words, Sakura nodded slightly. Sasuke could feel the enormous strain on his arms and body from all the intense concentration and chakra control from simply helping her- he couldn't imagine how shattered Sakura must be. An unexpected emotion – pride – welled within him at how adept she had become at medical ninjutsu, but he quelled it immediately.

Breathing in deeply, Sakura sat up, the warmth disappearing instantly from Sasuke's chest. She uncurled her fist to reveal a mound of tiny white crystals and stared at them, her brow furrowing.

"These were what were causing his heart attack," she explained. "They stuck to the walls of his arteries and created the clot."

Sasuke said nothing, expecting her to continue.

Sakura then said, "I don't think this was an accident though, there's an awful lot of it for him to have accidentally eaten or inhaled it-"

- **difficult for her here **_and Juugo removed the needle from his arm, rubbing at the tiny wound it created, unaware of just how deadly it could be -_

"Or injected them?" Sasuke interrupted suddenly.

Sakura stopped in surprise. "It's possible."

Sasuke was deathly silent for a few moments. Sakura said nothing, watching as the anger began to grow beneath his skin like a monster, never breaking free but never quite contained either. She could see it in his eyes and the killing intent that filled the room was stifling, threatening to choke her-

"Sasuke," she said instinctively, warningly.

There was a sudden lapse in the killing intent and Sakura could breathe again. He looked up to meet her confused gaze, his crimson ones unreadable as ancient glyphs.

Sakura asked him, "What the hell's going on?"

* * *

**Dude. I swear, you shouldn't even bother writing this section. You'll just get flamed.**

**OH MY GOD. WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?**  
I'm really, really, really sorry. I was meant to bring my external hard drive with me during the summer holidays to do omega work on Say, but then I left it on my desk when we were rushing to the airport. : ( Which meant I didn't get to work on it. And then I forgot where I put my hard drive, and then when I found it I completely forgot where Say was going and was really uninspired and lazy.

**So you're giving up on Say?**  
No way in hell. I'm going to keep going. True, the chapters will come a lot slower than they did before until I get back into a regular rhythm. I'm finding it really hard to get back into writing, if you couldn't tell from this chapter. I'm really rough around the edges right now. : (

**WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? WHY ARE YOU MESSING WITH NARUTO'S HEAD?**  
Ahhh, I'm sorry! If it makes you feel any better, I have planned a Naruto and Sakura reunion! It will come soon-ish. I'm still debating whether or not to have a Naruto-Sakura-Sasuke reunion though.

**That's different. You wrote from Sasuke's point of view for a little bit of this chapter.**  
Yeah. I think it was one of the weakest parts of this actually, I'm not good with getting into his head. I'll sit down and have a huge heart-to-heart with him and read lots of fanfiction to get back into the characterisation of everyone. Anyone know any good sasusakus? I haven't read Naruto fanfiction in a while (blame Hitman Reborn, Kingdom Hearts and the endless opportunity for yaoi pairings) so I'm sort of out of touch with it.

**Where are Suigetsu and Kisame? Are you going to do any development with the two of them?**  
I'd like to say yes, but I don't think I will. I don't see how I could squeeze it in unless I incorporate a big, silly and inconvenient plot twist. It would have been fun to do it though.

**You might start another Naruto story? Finish this one first! Don't be so stupid!**  
Well, I've got basically an entire outline for another story done and I've started work on it. It's weird how that works, I don't even know how this story's going to end. : ( I probably won't post it until I get past the second arc of Say though, just so I give myself some breathing space. It's going to be a lot more different than anything else I've ever done though.

**You're going to start writing for other fandoms? WHY? And which ones?**  
Yes, you read that correctly. The Naruto manga is killing me, if you've been reading my other notes you'd know this. : ) I'm looking to Katekyo Hitman Reborn and Kingdom Hearts- at this rate they're probably going to end up being all yaoi fics. Because I'm cool like that.

**What does Karin really feel for Sasuke? How come she's so upset by Suigetsu leaving?**  
I think that Karin's gone on for so long loving Sasuke that she still thinks she's in love with him. She can't imagine herself ever not being in love with him, so that she doesn't want to acknowledge the fact she's in love with Suigetsu. (Stupid girl. I'd take Sugietsu over Sasuke any day.)

…**this chapter was really pointless. All that happened was that Juugo nearly died and Sakura saved him.**  
I know, the story's going to begin slowing down soon. But you know what that means!

_RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT! _: )

* * *

I have massive cravings for Reeses peanut butter cups.

They don't sell them over here. : (

If you send me some, they'll fuel this story.

(But reviews work just as well.)

- _selandora_

**PS. ****I am really shocked at how many people have read/reviewed Say. It's actually ridiculous, I didn't expect it to get this many. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I hope you stick with my horrible angsty teenage writing for a little while longer. :)**


	10. this game we play, push and pull

**Chapter 10: this game we play, push and pull**

"_When captured birds grow wiser, they try to open the cage with their beaks. They don't give up, because they want to fly again."_  
- Genma

* * *

"What the hell's going on?"

Sakura's question was monumental in itself, a landmark in their troubled relationship. And even though Sasuke was certain he was making a mistake, he accepted it and changed everything.

"The leader of Akatsuki was trying to assassinate him," Sasuke answered, his voice heavy with anger.

"_Assassinate him?_ But he's a member of Akatsuki! Why would he want to do that?"

"That's not important now. What's important is that his plan didn't succeed and what we do now."

"What 'we' do now? I don't remember ever offering my help," Sakura snapped at him irritably.

"The moment you helped Juugo, you became involved. You're a war criminal now Sakura, you betrayed your own village and helped an enemy."

Sakura's eyes widened for a split second before they narrowed in fury. Realisation washed over her and she began, "You knew I wouldn't just stand by and let him die, Sasuke. You knew I would help him. Was that your plan all along? To blackmail me into helping you?"

"Regardless of whether or not it was my intention, you have no choice but to cooperate with us now. If Madara finds out that Juugo did not die when he was meant to and that he didn't go to a local hospital, he'll know you were the one who saved him. We need to find a way to protect the both of you."

Vehemently, she spat, "I didn't ask for your protection."

"No, but you need it. No one is strong enough to fight the leader alone."

It spoke measures that even Sasuke was admitting to that.

Sakura inhaled deeply, forcing herself to calm down. She would just have to live with his protection then, and it wasn't like she would owe Sasuke anything. She had just saved his team mates' life; accepting temporary protection from Sasuke would cancel out his debt to her. They'd be even.

"Alright, fine. Has the leader been targeting the other members of Team Hawk as well?" Sakura asked.

"It's obvious that he's trying to separate us. He provoked Suigetsu into leaving Team Hawk and forced him into a partnership with Kisame," Sasuke explained.

"But he hasn't tried to kill you, Suigetsu or Karin?"

"No. Not yet."

Sakura's eyes strayed to Juugo's still figure on the couch and she gnawed at her bottom lip in deep contemplation. "If your leader finds out Juugo is still alive…"

"He'll kill you. He doesn't know about Karin's healing abilities so he'll think you're the only possible medic. If he lets you live, you'll only heal the other members when he tries to assassinate them," Sasuke said without a shred of doubt.

"So we need to make him think Juugo is dead. If he thinks Juugo's dead, then he probably won't try to kill another member of Hawk for a while. He'd be too obvious and that's the last thing he wants, the other members of Akatsuki might leave if they realise he's picking them off one by one," Sakura concluded.

"That'll buy us time, definitely."

"We can use genjutsu on Juugo then-"

"No. The leader will see through it," Sasuke interrupted instantly.

Frowning, Sakura said, "You don't know that for sure. If we both work together to create one, I'm sure he won't be able to see through it."

"He will."

Sakura still didn't look convinced.

"He has the Mangekyou Sharingan," Sasuke explained, his crimson eyes flaring at the mention of it.

Her emerald eyes widened in shock and she opened her mouth to ask him more, but Sasuke cut her off. "Can't medics temporarily kill a patient?"

Sakura blinked. "Temporarily kill…? You mean shut down the body? Yeah, I can do that, but it'll only last for fifteen minutes then I have to reverse the process. Any longer and he'll stay dead."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "We need to show the leader Juugo's dead body and then get him out of Amegakure in that amount of time. The rain acts as a chakra detection device; Pein knows exactly who's alive and inside Amegakure at all times."

Sakura said grimly, "It'll be tight. And there's another problem, I have to be with Juugo when he's outside of Amegakure to bring him back to life."

"I'm not letting you leave Amegakure alone with Juugo," Sasuke ground out.

Sakura had expected that. As she racked her brains, a smile slowly began to spread across her face. Sasuke watched her suspiciously.

With renewed light in her eyes, she told him, "I have a plan."

* * *

The morgue was a dim, silent place, befitting the mainly dead inhabitants of the huge building. The living had no right to be here, yet here Sasuke was, with Karin, Pein and Madara in tow. Sakura had shut down Juugo's body just five minutes ago and he was already in position in the morgue.

Sasuke opened the door to one of the many rooms, revealing a raised metal observation table that was covered in a massive navy body bag. He approached it, pulling down the zipper in the middle loudly to reveal Juugo's graying face.

"What did he die of?" Madara asked, his voice quieter than usual in the face of the seemingly decaying body.

Sasuke pointed to a small pile of white crystals that had been extracted from Juugo's body. "The coroner found those in his bloodstream. They created a blood clot and he had a heart attack. They're unnatural substances though, so someone assassinated Juugo. I investigated the doctor who gave Juugo his medicine from the hospital and found out he was a Iwagakure spy."

Feigning surprise, Madara said, "Really? Did you dispose of him?"

"No. I brought him to the base so that you could decide what to do with him," Sasuke replied.

"He's there now?"

"Yes."

Karin stiffened suddenly, her eyes narrowing. She began, "Sasuke, Haruno Sakura's chakra signature is moving towards the gates of Amegakure. She escaped from the base."

Sasuke's jaw tightened in annoyance and Madara held up a hand, turning to Pein. He commanded him, "Check."

Pein shut his eyes as he focused, checking through the chakra imbued droplets of rain for Sakura's chakra. He found it and discovered that Karin's findings were accurate. His eyelids lifted to reveal his majestic ringed Rinnegan and he nodded, confirming what Karin had said.

Madara's expression darkened and he stated coldly, "Go and retrieve your hostage, Sasuke. This girl will finish the preparations for his burial."

Sasuke left quickly and Karin stared down at Juugo, her expression unreadable. Madara tittered inwardly; human emotion was so weak.

"Madara-sama, the Iwagakure spy escaped along with Haruno Sakura. He's headed to the main shopping district now and his chakra is flaring with killing intent," Pein said quietly.

Madara let out a small 'tch' of annoyance. "We'll have to take matters into our own hands then."

He turned to leave, Pein following him, but then he paused. He glanced back over his shoulder at Karin and reassured her, "We'll make your friend's murderer pay for what he's done."

Karin nodded slowly, still staring at Juugo. Pein and Madara left then and the door clicked shut behind them, giving way to silence. She paused, sensing their chakra signatures grow further and further away until she was the only one left in the morgue.

Karin rolled her eyes. _Make him pay, my ass._

Then she leapt to action.

There were only seven minutes left. Working as quickly as she could, she zipped up Juugo's body bag and rolled him off the examination table unceremoniously. He landed on the ground with a muffled thump and she ignored him (he was dead, so he wouldn't feel it anyways). There was a tall medical cabinet in the corner and she yanked it open- she and Sasuke had already removed everything inside to make room for a second body bag. She dragged it across the room and pulled it onto the observation table, yanking down the zipper to make sure the genjutsu was still in place.

An exact replica of Juugo's face stared up at her.

She zipped up the body bag in satisfaction; the genjutsu Sasuke and Sakura had put on the dead civilian body inside it had held. The civilian had come from another body bag in the morgue so he'd already been dead, a concession they'd had to make because Sakura wouldn't help otherwise. Shutting the medical cabinet, she grabbed the body bag that contained the real Juugo and dragged it out of the room, up and out of the morgue. She slung the bulky body over her shoulder and ran as fast as she could, her heels clicking against the wet ground.

Raising her free wrist that had a watch on it, she realised with that there were only eight minutes left. She moulded glowing green chakra to her feet and forced herself to run faster, faster, until an ominous black fountain emerged into her line of vision. Sasuke stood in front of it, his dark profile blending into the midnight rock, and he glided forwards to meet her.

As he took the body bag, she ripped the watch off her wrist and transferred it to Sasuke's, her nimble fingers securing it on his thin wrist as he shifted Juugo's corpse. Once she was done, Sasuke told her quietly, "Don't tell Suigetsu about this. Let him think Juugo's dead."

"But-"

He was already gone.

Meanwhile, Sakura had reached the gates of Amegakure. Sasuke had told her to go to the west gate because it wasn't as heavily defended, and true to his word, there were only two sentries on guard. They were separated as well, there was one on the top of the wall and one standing by the gate on the ground. She paused, slipping the last of Kakashi's soldier pills that she'd saved into her mouth, and bit down on it with a satisfying crunch.

Chakra flooded through her veins and she couldn't resist throwing her head back in ecstasy at the feeling. She had been itching for a fight all week – living with Sasuke frustrated her to no end and she didn't have a proper outlet – so she took the chance to wipe out the two guards gratefully. Fingering a kunai that Sasuke had not-so-kindly lent to her, she spun it experimentally and revelled at the feeling of having a weapon once again.

She moulded a thin thread of her own chakra to the handle and unleashed it on the first guard, the kunai flying swiftly and silently at the man standing on the lower level. It buried itself so deeply into his neck that it came out the other side and sliced viciously through all of his vocal chords. He had barely enough time to scream for help. His body fell to the ground with a muffled thump.

Sakura pulled at the thread of chakra connecting herself to the kunai and it glided out easily, but then it clattered onto the stone floor noisily. Her head snapped up instantly to the other guard on top of the wall and they stopped in confusion, turning around to find out what the commotion was all about.

"Yamamoto-san?" the female guard asked nervously.

Sakura realised that she couldn't have been much older than herself, if not younger. She instantly felt a pang of regret and decided she wouldn't kill her, she'd do her best to just knock her out.

The girl let out a shout of surprise as Sakura appeared before her and she threw her hands up in a hurried, improvised block as Sakura unleashed a vicious roundhouse. The girl skidded backwards and managed to block Sakura's next punch to the face, but missed the second jab to her left hip. The girl gritted her teeth and ignored the pain, doing her best to keep blocking.

However, the left side of her body suddenly collapsed like a bad soufflé. Sakura took this chance to deliver an uppercut to the chin and the girl flew into the wall of the guardhouse, the stone wall cracking from the force.

Still clinging to the vestiges of consciousness, the guard managed, "What did you do to me?"

Sakura grinned and waved a hand imbued with glowing green healing chakra at her. Sakura had jumbled the nerves in the left side of her body, rendering them temporarily useless. As though it explained everything, Sakura told her, "Medic-nin."

The girl's eyes promptly slid shut.

She jumped down from the upper level and walked towards the massive chakra imbued wooden gate, looking for the characteristic Ame symbol. She found the four diagonal slashes carved into a rock on the wall and moulded her chakra to it, drawing her hand back soon afterwards to see what would happen. The symbol glowed dully with the residue of her chakra before fading completely. Nothing was happening.

Then there was a loud shriek as the doors dragged against the stone floor slowly, slowly. A crack of light shone through the widening gap and Sakura watched it with the hungry eyes of the desperate, waiting for it to grow big enough for her to slip through. The light caught the dead guard's wrist and a brilliant shine caused her to glance at it instinctively. Upon closer inspection, she saw that he was actually wearing a watch- something infinitely useful to their cause. She bent down to remove it and pulled a face of disgust as she realised the clock face was covered in blood. She wiped it clean to read the time.

It was four thirty seven. They only had three minutes before Juugo died.

The screeching stopped suddenly and Sakura's head flicked upwards. The gate was fully open. She rose to her feet and threw a glance behind her.

_Hurry, Sasuke_.

Then she launched herself into a sprint beyond Amegakure.

* * *

To the objective eye, leaving Sakura on her own to get out of Amegakure was all kinds of royally stupid. To the objective eye, there was a high chance she'd just ditch them and make a break for Konoha, leaving Juugo to die while she made her way to safety.

However, Sasuke knew that when Sakura gave her word, she kept it.

It was a useless trait she'd unwittingly inherited from Naruto, one that Sasuke could depend on now. Juugo's skin was clammy cold against his skin and Sasuke's arm tightened around his thick waist, securing him in his grip. His crimson eyes flickered to Juugo's grey face, taking in the smell of decay and rotting skin. Sakura had really done a number on him.

A tiny clearing between the trees revealed itself to him through a curtain of foliage and he strained his eyes, looking for the tiniest blur of pink. A blinding migraine speared through his head with every passing minute, he'd grown accustomed to the pain but it did no wonders for his failing vision. His eyes flickered to the left, then to the right. Blurs of dark green met him at every turn, but none emerald or cherry pink.

_Come on, come on. Where are you, Sakura?_

He moulded chakra to his eyes and hissed in agony as his vision cleared and the pounding in his head worsened. His face was warm and wet with rain and he rubbed his arm across his cheeks, growing more and more agitated as he searched for her. He searched the area, able to make out the minute veins on leaves and individual feathers on birds' backs for the first time in months, but at too high a price.

_There are only two minutes left. Where is she?_

Sasuke ran forwards, maybe she was nearby. Maybe she hadn't been able to find their meeting point.

_What happens if she really did just go back to Konoha?  
_

He stopped in his tracks, the enormity of the realisation smacking him across the face like a slab of ice. A searing hot knife of pain twisted in his skull and he swayed dangerously, a hand lashing out to support himself against a gnarled tree trunk. He gritted his teeth, rage flooding through him. If he ever got his hands on her again, he'd kill her-

A high, feminine voice called out, "Sasuke?"

His murderous line of thought came to an abrupt halt.

"Sasuke, are you there?" Sakura called out again, her voice echoing in the forest canopy.

He turned immediately in the direction of her voice and flashed forwards, his forced 20/20 vision taking in everything around him. The orgy of browns and ochres of the soil, the blends of green in the leaves, the gnarled and smoothed textures of tree bark-

The minute hand on his watch moved decisively. There was only one minute left.

"Sakura!" he yelled, his voice unused to the strain. It had been so long since he'd screamed for anything, for anyone. "Sakura!"

There was a flurry of movement to his right and he turned, running in that direction. Juugo's dead weight threatened to drag him down, but he drove himself forwards so that it wouldn't stay permanent. Then there was a brilliant flash of pale pink and bright green eyes and he threw himself forwards.

Their hands collided clumsily as they lowered Juugo to the ground together, fingers gripping at corpse flesh. Sakura tossed her wet hair out of her bright, bright eyes, her hands glowing with soft chakra. Sasuke gripped Juugo's arm tightly as she pushed down heavily on Juugo's massive chest with both hands, forcing the chakra into his heart. Juugo's body spasmed once, but then fell still again.

"Twenty seconds," Sasuke told her sharply.

She swore loudly under her breath and then ripped Sasuke's hand away from Juugo's arm, pressing it against her stomach. Sasuke understood what she meant immediately; the stomach was where the centre of chakra production was in any person's body and he flooded Sakura with as much chakra as he could possibly muster. The foreign chakra blistered Sakura's skin and she gritted her teeth against the pain, letting out a low cry as she unleashed their combined chakra on Juugo's body.

Her fingers tightened around his and he instinctively interlocked their fingers, watching Juugo for a reaction. Dead silence followed.

The minute hand moved again.

Sakura's long nails dug deep into the flesh of Sasuke's hand, but what he didn't realise was that he was squeezing her hand just as tightly too. Juugo remained as lifeless as he had what seemed like lifetimes ago. A tiny, tiny gasp escaped Sakura's mouth.

His eyes strayed from Juugo for what he had intended to be a split second, but then remained locked on Sakura for an eternity. Tears as clear as a summer's day coursed down her cheeks, her lips bright red from where she had gnawed them in an attempt to restrain herself. He felt his morale drop into the pit of his soul, his hand slackening against hers. He couldn't bring himself to separate himself from her- not now.

She tried to pull herself away from Sasuke, to hide herself from him in a fit of guilty consciousness. Somehow, they managed to get tangled up in an accidental game of push and pull until she fell forwards into him. Her gasps developed into sobs and his arms tightened around her small shoulders, her body pressed against his chest as she hid her face behind her hands.

"Sakura," her name slipped from his lips, fragile as paper thin crystal.

She tried to rip herself away from him again, but he held her like a vice.

"Sasuke, let me go-"

"Sakura, he's breathing."

Her eyes flashed open and her head snapped to the side at his words. Both Sasuke and Sakura watched in amazement as Juugo's chest rose and fell, rose and fell. The colour began to return to Juugo's face. His mouth cracked open and he inhaled deeply, raspily- the disgusting sound was perhaps one of the most beautiful ones Sakura had ever heard before in her life.

Sasuke released one arm, the other still holding Sakura against him, and he pressed his fingers against Juugo's pulse point in his wrist. He waited for a heartbeat.

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

He moved his head slightly to look at Sakura, meeting her stricken gaze. Their faces were so close, he could make out each individual bead of perspiration on her forehead, each strand of pale pink that ghosted across her cheeks.

His voice was heavy with emotions he couldn't name. "You saved him, Sakura."

She stared at him as though she couldn't process what he had just said to her.

Then, her mouth curved upwards into a smile and her brilliance blinded him.

* * *

**Come back when you can by Barcelona. It is not a coincidence that this happens to be the song that inspired me to continue writing Say. I think I'll make it the theme song of this story.  
**

**I really don't want Sakura to get with Sasuke. She should stay with Naruto.**  
In real life, if I had to choose between a Naruto or a Sasuke, I would go for a Naruto in a heartbeat. This has nothing to do with the fact that the guy I have a crush on reminds me of him either. Really. Anyways, what I really mean to say is, I have no idea how this story is going to end. I only know what will happen towards the end of the story, but the story is one huge massive blur from then on. I wish I could give you guys a definitive answer about what this pairing will be eventually because I can't see possible ways for either relationship to work out. I've been toying with the idea of turning one of them into a douche bag, but I couldn't possibly do that to Naruto and I'm trying to make people like Sasuke, which would be incredibly detrimental to my original goal. Deaths are out of the question, because Sakura would hate whoever lived. If only she could have both of them. =(

**Is Sakura cheating on Naruto?**  
I don't think so. I'd like to think everything so far has been more friendly than romantic on her end, but Sasuke's one big massive blob of enigmatic mystery. You can figure out what you think he's feeling for her. He's a very twisted guy.

**Sakura helped Sasuke bust Juugo out. What happens now?**  
Alrighty, here's where my research comes in handy. If you want to be on top of your game for the next chapter, take a lookey at manga chapter 354; Nekobaa's supply shop in the Abandoned City becomes really important throughout this story.

**Sakura and Sasuke are working together so naturally now. Relationship development, much?**  
Yes. It took forever, but we got there in the end, guys. We are one fraction closer to a full on make out session. With Naruto and Sasuke.

**Why did Sakura cry? Something like that shouldn't have made her cry!**  
Actually, yes it would. Imagine how much stress she was under. First of all, she was just beginning to patch up her relationship with Sasuke so she would have been really hopeful. She's also seen how much Juugo means to Sasuke and that would have reminded her that he's not beyond hope- he still cares for people, even if it's not her and Naruto. I think that would have inspired her to help Juugo. Both Sakura and Sasuke were risking their necks to make sure the plan worked and they were working their butts off, so their emotional levels were going absolutely haywire. Sakura and Sasuke both couldn't find each other, so Sakura must have been freaking out because there were only two minutes left to save Juugo- then she found him and then thought she killed him because she wasn't quick enough finding Sasuke. She would have been on one hell of an emotional rollercoaster- hell, I'd go into a complete breakdown if I'd been through all that and thought it had been for nothing.

**Just to make things interesting, you should have one of the hot men take off their shirt in each chapter. You know, just to satisfy your own cravings.**  
That sounds like a damn good idea. I'll start with the next chapter. First person to point out who was shirtless in the chapter gets a prize. : )

**Why is it taking you so long to update?**  
It's time to put imagery to use here to get my sentiments across more clearly. I am like a writer with a spastic literary colon and chapters take hours on the metaphorical loo to write. I think more often than not, writing is difficult for everyone and inspiration comes in super quick flashes. I come up with ideas quickly, but when I actually have to sit down and write stuff out, I die a little inside everytime. (This is basically me complaining. You should be shouting at me to get off my ass and finish writing this beast.)

**What's up with the new Naruto chapters? Why are all of the characters emotionally retarded? WHEN WILL SASUKE STOP F-CKING FIGHTING?**  
I die a little inside with every new chapter Kishimoto releases. If Sasukes comes up with another crazy move, I'll melt. I can't incorporate all of this shit into Say, as much as I'd like to. And what was up with the whole Naruto fainting thing? I mean, I guess he was under a lot of stress, but it was still annoying. And Sakura's annoying. Running after Sasuke when you are blatantly incapable of doing so helps _nobody_. Really.

**An ANBU dance troupe on youtube? What?**  
Take the spaces out of the link below. Now THAT'S what's up.  
www . youtube . com / watch?v = CeZkvxfHd40

* * *

I'm kind of running out of Naruto quotes to put at the beginning of chapters from Say. If you have any you think are really good, please donate them.

In a review.

Preferably. : )

- _selandora_


	11. robbing home

"_A place where someone still thinks of you; that's a place you can call home."_

_- Jiraiya  
_

* * *

Juugo's voice was rough with disuse but the certainty behind it was unmistakable. "I'm not leaving you."

Unluckily for Juugo, Sakura knew that nine times out of ten, Sasuke always got his way. She watched the proceedings unfold with crossed arms and attentive ears; Sasuke's crimson eyes flickered to her as he mentally debated whether or not he should knock her out so she wouldn't hear the following exchange.

"The rest of Akatsuki thinks you're dead. If you return then you will only complicate things. You need you go to Nekobaa," Sasuke ground out firmly.

The foreign name made Sakura perk up and Juugo's brow only furrowed further. He looked as though he was going to press Sasuke further, but the scarlet warning glare silenced him.

Juugo asked, "But what will the rest of you do while I'm gone?"

"We will follow you as soon as we can with Sakura."

Sakura's head snapped in Sasuke's direction, her face the picture of confusion. Her lips parted in the semblance of a question and Sasuke neatly cut her off, "Wait for us and let Nekobaa know the rest of us are coming."

Juugo fell into quiet contemplation, his intense gaze whirling with thoughts he couldn't voice in Sakura's presence. Vaguely, he stated, "My condition."

"Make sure to inform Nekobaa of it so she can make preparations for you. There's a chance she may be able to help you, or at least lessen the frequency of the attacks," Sasuke explained.

The corners of Juugo's lips twitched in dry amusement. "I don't think that's likely, but I appreciate the encouragement. I'll see you there."

The loose fabric of Sasuke's clothes rustled in the wake of Juugo's sudden departure and Sakura tucked her windblown hair behind one ear, squinting at the forceful gust that raced through the tiny clearing and made her eyes sting. Once all traces of Juugo's chakra were gone, she approached Sasuke slowly.

"So what could make the mighty Team Hawk flee from Amegekure with their tails between their legs?" she asked dryly.

His jaw tightened at the accusation and he turned to her, his eyes unreadable. He explained curtly, "We're no longer interested in working with Akatsuki."

"Did you decide this before or after someone tried to off Juugo?" she asked dryly.

"It's true that that may have contributed to our final decision, yes."

"What did you mean when you said you were bringing me with you?"

Sasuke watched her quietly, taking in the controlled line of her mouth; as though it was sucking away her spirit to keep herself from hoping for too much. He replied, "Exactly what I meant."

"So you're saying you're going to help bust me out of Amegakure?"

"You'll be travelling with us until we let you go."

"And what do you mean by 'until we let you go'?"

"We will take you to a neutral area out of Amegakure and Konoha's borders and release you there. It'll be up to you to make your own way home," he explained.

Her arms remained folded and her stance as wary as ever. "Why would you want to help me get home? What do you get out of this?"

His right eyebrow raised fractionally, as though completely floored by the stupidity of her question. He replied matter-of-factly, "Your assistance."

* * *

Sakura had vehemently protested to letting Sasuke knock her out, and so he'd had to sit and wait for her to induce her own blissful state of unconsciousness. Granted, it had only taken several seconds for her to do so, but the blatant lack of trust grated against his nerves. As he slipped through the gates, he realised that he was carrying her too intimately, like a groom would a bride over a threshold, and was sorely reminded of Madara.

- **you hold her like you love her **_presumptions are said to hold fractions of the truth in them but he didn't love Sakura, he just didn't want her to _break-

Her head felt heavy against his chest. She was like a doll in his arms and he had the power to shatter her, the power to destroy Naruto from the inside out. He could potentially start a war if he killed Sakura now. After Jiraiya's death, Team Hawk's assassination of Tazuna and various other missions Akatsuki had executed, murdering the Hokage's prized apprentice would probably drive Konoha to battle against Amegakure.

Team Hawk would be able to fight against Konoha's Council of Elders sooner than he could have imagined.

Her head felt so heavy against his chest. His arms pressed against her arms, her face against his chest, skin against skin and it was unbearable.

- **you hold her like you** -

And even though he could feel her against him, it felt like she had forced her way under his ribcage. She was gnawing away at his insides, wearing his soul thin with confusion, and it was all he could do to keep her from bursting from his fraying seams.

Sasuke slipped like a shadow into the compound, but a smooth voice greeted him, "I see you retrieved our runaway."

Sasuke didn't turn.

Madara watched in amusement as Sasuke's arm tightened around Sakura, as the corded muscles in his back drew taut. He walked towards Sasuke, footsteps echoing as the slaps reverberated against the high ceiling, and then came to a stop barely a metre apart from him.

"She's really not worth the trouble. It's been nearly a month and the demon child hasn't come to save her. I guess she really doesn't mean anything to him at all," Madara continued conversationally. Something about the way he looked at Sakura was chilling.

Sasuke insisted, "He loves her. You know as well as I do that Naruto is being heavily guarded. He wants to save her."

"Hmm, but simply wanting to save her won't bring him here, will it?" Madara mused.

Silence fell between them.

"It's a shame," Madara sighed. "You had so much faith in your demon friend. As it is now, the girl is a pain to handle and useless to us. We'd be so much better off without her."

"If you kill her, you'll begin a war with Konoha. I was under the impression that you wanted to wait until we had collected all the jinchuuriki."

"Unfortunately, life doesn't conform to even the best of plans. You may want to return to your room quickly, by the way." Madara brushed past Sasuke. "I believe she's waking up."

Even after he could no longer detect Madara's presence, every muscle in his body remained as tense as a coiled spring. Sakura shifted and he instinctively tightened his arm around her waist, stilling her immediately.

"Don't move," he ordered her beneath his breath, careful not to move his lips.

Instead of kicking up a fuss as she was prone to doing, she obeyed him. Slowly, Sasuke put one foot after another and repeated the process, his mind whirling around other things. It wasn't until his bedroom door clicked shut behind him that the tension began to leave him.

He approached his bed mindlessly and bent over, sliding Sakura onto it. The mattress sank on either side of Sakura's head as he braced his palms against it, so that he wouldn't crush her. Sasuke's expression was almost painfully blank and he didn't pull away from her, their face mere millimetres apart. His breath curled across her cheeks, long bangs brushing her forehead-

Sakura felt fear spike within her as Naruto's face flitted across her mind. She called his name sharply, "Sasuke."

If she had offended him, he didn't let it show on his face. He stood up immediately and went to the balcony, leaving so much distance between them it was like being universes apart. She straightened up, staring at her hands as Sasuke watched the sky fall through glass doors.

"We're leaving tonight," he told her.

"Tonight?" she blurted incredulously.

"Make sure you're ready to leave at any time."

Then he was gone from the room, as though he'd never been there to begin with. But Sakura could still feel the lingering warmth his hands had left in the imprints on the bed, incriminating evidence of his lapse in control.

* * *

"We're leaving tonight," Sasuke commanded.

There was a split second pause where Karin fought to process what he had just said. It wasn't something she could rationally wrap her head around, Sasuke – _Sasuke_ – was basically ordering the complete annihilation of a plan they'd been working towards for the better part of two years. If they left now, they would have no allies to help weaken and distract Konoha while they launched an assault on the Council Elders. All they would have were enemies they couldn't afford to have, enemies that could raze a country to the ground in a blink of an eye.

"Sasuke-kun," she began slowly, warily. "Are you sure about this?"

His eyes flickered. No, he wasn't sure. But the situation was spinning out of control and this was the only way he could possibly salvage it (**the only way he could protect Sakura**) and he hated her for driving him into this rut. As hard as he tried to convince himself that he was only doing this to repay his debt to her for saving Juugo's life, he could feel the truth clawing at the insides of his lips and snapping at his tongue. He wasn't himself.

"You should think this over first," she was advising him, but he couldn't hear her over the war for himself in his head, "give it a week and if you're really serious about leaving Akatsuki, we can come up with a plan-"

"No. We need to leave tonight," Sasuke reiterated.

Something in her gaze shifted, a puzzle piece falling into place. "We can't rush into something like this. We need to come up with a plan first that will give us as much time as possible to distance ourselves from Amegakure, since Sakura doesn't have any chakra to enhance her speed."

How had she known he wanted to take Sakura along with them?

"After what she did for Juugo, I'd be surprised if you didn't bring her along," she explained his unspoken question simply. "You were born and raised a Konoha ninja, it's not surprising you still uphold some of their naïve ideals."

"I'm no longer a ninja of Konoha," he told her coldly, curtly. "I once believed in their stupid ideals, but that time is long behind me."

She returned his icy gaze levelly. "I never said they were stupid. I said they were naïve."

Silence claimed Sasuke.

Something changed in Karin's expression. "What-"

Her voice broke and she glanced away self-consciously, adjusting her glasses. "What about Suigetsu?"

Sasuke had been expecting this question, but that didn't mean he was fully prepared for it. "What about Suigetsu?"

"He comes back with Hoshigaki-san in two days," she told him.

"So?"

Her eyes flickered. "I really think we should tell him about this."

"He's not a part of Team Hawk any longer. We have no obligation to him-"

"Sasuke-kun, please," her voice took on a more pleading note.

Karin had never been one to beg for anything and Sasuke nearly wavered. But Sasuke was proud, and Sasuke was an Uchiha, and Suigetsu had humiliated him by leaving Team Hawk to take on Sasuke's own punishment. He fell into silence again, hard crimson eyes staring at Karin emotionlessly.

Then he detected a foreign chakra signature in his room.

It burst into life like fireworks at midnight- violent, garish and impossible to ignore. The only person meant to be in his room was Sakura, and he could feel her chakra signature brushing against his senses like silk. This new chakra was everything hers wasn't, rough where hers was smooth, brutal and erratic where hers was calm and controlled.

He was at his bedroom door before Karin could confirm who it belonged to. He already knew. His cold fingers crushed the doorknob beneath his grip. Sakura's chakra spiked suddenly, as though she had thrown herself into a fight and he all but tore the door open. He flinched as blinding white light attacked his tortured corneas, ripping his nerves to shreds, and then suddenly he could sense nobody inside the room.

His eyes adjusted. His room was barren. Rainwater leaked in from the open balcony doors, spattering and staining the carpeted floor with dark flecks of moisture. Bed sheets lay crumpled and defeated on the floor, messy holes gaping upwards at the ceiling. And there was this overwhelming sense of _loneliness_, as though the life had been sucked from the walls and the lumpy couch. Something smashed against his chest from the inside, winding him in ways that he never knew possible.

Sakura was gone.

* * *

**WHERE THE EFF WERE YOU?**  
Two horrible, horrible words. Writer's block. I really should have planned this story, huh?

**Okay fine. You're back. Have you made a decision on who Sakura's going to wind up with?**  
I have!

**Sasuke's so emotional in this chapter. What happened to your characterisation?**  
I think this is the first chapter where I've actually written everything from his perspective. My characterisation probably is a little rusty, but I do genuinely believe Sasuke is not a robot. I think he's starting to realise how much Sakura means to him and that would terrify him.

**Holy snap. Sakura and Sasuke nearly kissed.  
**Sakura would have fought against him if he'd tried to go any further. She's a very honorable character and she would never do that as long as she was still dating Naruto.

**Speaking of Naruto, when are we going to see that son of a gun again?  
**Well, not until Sakura returns to Konoha. That's going to be roughly two chapters' time, so no worries gaizz! He and Sakura will be reunited very soon, but that of course means that things are going to get very awkward and angsty.

**And love triangles are all about romantic angst, which has been kind of dead throughout this fic.  
**I'M GOING TO MAKE UP FOR IT IN THE KONOHA ARC. It'll just be pages and pages and pages of angsting. Be prepared to smash all three characters in the face at some point in time, they will probably get annoying.

**Why is this chapter so pathetically short?**  
I've decided to start stopping chapters at points where they actually seem to end, and cutting out anything unnecessary. I was rereading Say and I've realised there's just all this useless stuff that I could probably cull, because it just slows down the pace. And plus, I like the cliff hanger.

**Don't you have something you should say to all of your amazing readers/reviewers?**  
I am so sorry, I know I let you guys down by delaying this for ages. Thank you so much for all of your support so far, I really appreciate it and I have to admit, I'm thankful to you guys for shouting at me to get off my ass and update. Without you guys, I probably would have just given into writer's block and ditched Say forever and ever. Thanks so much again, I really don't deserve readers/reviewers like you but I'm so grateful you chose to stick around and support Say. I hope you continue to support this fic, thanks so much for everything so far!

_- selandora_


	12. sunlight, sunlight

**Chapter 12: sunlight, sunlight**

___"The next generation will always surpass the previous one. It's one of the never-ending cycles in life."_  
- Kakashi

* * *

_SCREEEEEEECH._

_SCREEEEEEECH._

"Welcome back, Sakura."

_Cracrack. Cracrack._

* * *

The room was empty but Karin could feel it filling up inch by inch with Sasuke's toxic rage. It was clawing at her ankles and she fought to keep her breathing as quiet as possible, as though she were in the presence of a predator. And he was completely still, just staring at the torn white blanket on the ground.

(_and is this what Naruto felt like, when he found the scrap of red cloth trapped to a rock and was told they had taken her_ -?)

He continued staring at the floor. "You could tell whose chakra signature it was just now. It was Zetsu's, wasn't it?"

Karin began, "Sasuke-"

"Wasn't it?"

She could feel his rage flooding up to her stomach, pulling her down with it. "Yes."

Then his energy left him and he folded over like a paper tower.

"Sasuke," she called his name, running towards him instinctively. She reached out to help him stand and his hands grabbed at her arms.

There were stars in his eyes and she stared in horror as his final Mangekyou Sharingan was activated. But there was something wrong, he was hurting and she could tell from the erratic throb of his chakra and the way his nails dug into her palms. Twin trickles of crimson sludge trickled from his eyes, his eyes were all bloody iris. His knees were weakening and she fought to keep him upright. He clung to her, like it was taking all of his energy to remain standing.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" she whispered, her voice robbed from her. "They haven't bled like this before."

He let go of her and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, struggling towards the bed. He didn't see the corner and his knee knocked against it clumsily- Karin tried to help him towards it. He angrily slapped her hands away but she refused to let him beat her off, she sat him down and knelt down beside him on the floor.

"We'll find Sakura, Sasuke," she told him as calmly as she could, scared he could hear her heart pounding in her throat. "We'll force her to fix your eyes. She hasn't been gone long and it's unlikely they'll kill Sakura while she's still useful to the organization-"

"Madara said he would kill her," he forced out, trying to keep his breathing under control. But God it hurt, it hurt it hurt it hurt.

His hands were still pressed against his eyes. She could see the blood seeping through the spaces between his fingers.

"I- I can't sense Zetsu's chakra right now, they must have gone into a place that conceals chakra. I can still find them. If they're in a protected area, that means that they're in a dead space where there's no chakra at all, not even minor chakra in rocks and grass. I can find all the dead spaces near here and we can break into them to find her," Karin explained.

"There could be hundreds of dead spaces in Ame. She'll be dead by the time we find her."

"It may ironically be a good thing that Zetsu has her. He likes to draw out his deaths, so we still have time to save her if we work together. I can point out all the dead spaces and we can find her," she reassured him. "But you do realize we can't find her just between the two of us? We're going to need help."

"Not Suigetsu," he snarled.

"Juugo can't help us. Suigetsu is our only option and I know he'd be willing to help. He's coming back in two days but if I send him a message now, he could be here in less than one. Team Hawk probably means more to him than an Akatsuki mission," she argued.

His lips parted and his jaw tightened as he crushed his teeth together, grinding them into enamel dust. He pressed his hands further into his eyes as though that could help stop the new onslaught of pain lancing through his brain and was absolutely silent, holding his breath. Karin watched him, wanting so very much to help him.

Then he bit out, "Map out the dead spaces and give a list to Suigetsu when he arrives. We'll cover as much ground as we can now without him."

Less than an hour later, Karin's heels splattered puddles in the rain as it flooded down on both her and Sasuke, causing her to consciously pull her cloak tighter around her body. Sasuke trudged on silently behind her and she could tell it was taking all of his energy not to race ahead of her to tear down every building in Amegakure. He was only allowing her to lead him because he couldn't possibly find Sakura on his own and without her tracking abilities. She understood that even if it did hurt her a little bit.

Sasuke's voice carried across the sky towards her, "How did you contact Suigetsu?"

"I can send out my chakra over long distances to find people. I found him and started flaring out my chakra over and over again to get his attention. He knows I don't waste my time and chakra sending him stupid messages or playing tricks, so he'll get the hint. Last I checked, he was heading towards Ame," she explained.

He asked, "How long before he gets here?"

"I'm not sure. He keeps speeding up and slowing down again; I think he's been injured or something. He could be here from any time between eight hours and another two days," Karin replied apologetically.

The blood continued to trick out of his eyes, down his cheeks, down his neck and branch across his chest in cherry blossom branches. Karin's mouth set into a firm line- the sooner they found Sakura, the sooner she could fix the mess Sasuke was in. She didn't want to say it out loud, but she was terrified he'd be blind by the time they found her.

"We can't rely on Suigetsu's help. We need to cover more ground," he ground out decisively. "Where's the next dead space?"

"It should be around the corner."

His pace increased dramatically and his cloak cracked behind him like a flag in a typhoon as he turned sharply into the bend of the road. He went on ahead of Karin, his three point Sharingan whirling as he took in his surroundings, and she stopped as she joined him. Tucked in between shoddy residences was a dilapidated temple, once that had long fallen into disuse. Patterns made of peppery mould trailed across the rice paper screens and the constant rain had led the wooden steps to rot.

"Is this a dead space?" Sasuke questioned.

"I can't sense any chakra coming from inside the building. This has to be it."

He darted ahead and the stairs he had ascended only creaked when he had reached the temple door. Karin followed him, but her eyes flickered to a barely legible wooden sign that had been clumsily tacked above the entrance. The water had eaten away at the words, but she could just make out '_sage'_ as well as a crude cartoon drawing of a frog in the bottom right corner. Something about the abandoned temple stretched her heart strings to their breaking points, she felt like anything that had once been innocent about the place had long since been corrupted and forgotten.

Sasuke reached out to place his hand on the screen door. He began to slide it open and then-

**WHAM**.

Konan appeared out of thin air and had slammed the door shut. Sasuke was well and truly disoriented by her appearance, his eyes straining to focus and refocus upon her solitary figure at the bottom of the stairs they had just ascended. Once he processed who she was and what was happening, he rounded on her.

He began heatedly, "What are you-"

"Sakura isn't in there," Konan replied, her low calm voice filling the empty spaces between them.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "If she isn't in here, then where is she?"

Konan remained completely silent, her unsettling arctic eyes solely fixed on Sasuke. Now they were inside the dead space, Karin could sense all the chakra around her and Konan's was insidious, creeping along her skin and ready to destroy at a moment's notice. She was unbelievably powerful and Karin knew Sasuke could sense her strength too, if a fight ensued Karin wasn't sure if Sasuke would be the victor in his current state.

Karin ventured, "Do you know where Zetsu has taken Sakura?"

Silence followed. Then both Sasuke and Karin were buffeted out of the dead space and down the stairs by invisible hands, unable to fight against them, and Konan moved past them to take their place in front of the screen door. She was still watching them from the top of the stairs with her navy hair plastered to her face with rainwater. She looked so small and lonely, standing in front of the ruined rice paper door with the childish sign towering over her like a skyscraper's shadow.

"I don't know where Sakura is, but I'd advise you to look in the northern part of town. You still have time," Konan supplied vaguely.

"Why are you helping us? Aren't you just going to run off and tell Madara what we're doing the moment we leave?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

If she hadn't been breathing, she would have been a statue. "My loyalty has and always will be to Pain. Madara is the one who chose to involve Sakura; Pain and I don't always agree with his methods."

There was a shift in Sasuke, as though Konan had slipped a knife under his ribs while he wasn't looking. He stared at her, his hands fisting at his sides.

Konan's arctic eyes were stormy grey in the clouded over sunlight. "Have faith, Uchiha. You can still save her."

(_and if Sasuke had looked just a little harder, he would have been able to see the suicidal spray of blood from a boy's chest in her eyes and the tiniest of scars on her neck from an oh so familiar love tragedy-)_

"Let's go, Karin," Sasuke ordered her in an undertone, turning away to leave.

"Uchiha," Konan called out.

Sasuke stopped, glancing over his shoulder. She pulled the paper rose from her hair with slender fingers that looked as fragile as her paper masterpieces and exhaled onto it. It floated into the air, spinning around and around until it landed in Sasuke's outstretched hand.

He began, "I don't understand-"

"Give it to Sakura. She will."

Konan hesitated for a moment, and then descended the stairs towards him. She reached out a hand and Sasuke jerked back defensively as she touched the area under his eyes. Her fingertips came away crimson and she watched him with an unspeakable sadness.

"It's always the eyes," she said quietly.

And for some strange reason, Sasuke understood.

* * *

Kakashi slipped quietly onto a seat beside Shikamaru in Ichiraku, ordering a bowl of ramen in a low voice. Shikamaru's bowl of ramen was all but untouched and seemed to have been cold for a very long time, the oil in the soup had began to coagulate and form a misty layer on top. There were circles under the usually well rested jounin's eyes and he looked like all the life had been vacuumed out of him, or like someone or something had been haunting him for days on end.

"You look tired," Kakashi commented, breaking his chopsticks in half.

Shikamaru sighed. "I'm not in the mood, Kakashi-san. If you want to know anything about Naruto, just ask me straight out."

Kakashi dipped his chopsticks into the clear broth, swirling his noodles around the sticks of bamboo quietly. Then he asked, "How is he?"

Shikamaru answered, "He was so troublesome and angry for such a long time. Now he just lies on his bed facing the wall and he doesn't move, he doesn't _say _anything. If I didn't see him breathing, I would have thought he was a corpse. I don't know what's worse, the screaming or his dead silence."

* * *

**I DON'T CARE WHO I HAVE TO FIGHT **_**eyes blue eyes**_

(he sucked the chakra from her and bound her to the table)

**IF HE RIPS MY ARMS OUT, I'LL KICK HIM TO DEATH **_**blue skies and sunlight**_

(he sliced her forearms to the bone, deep enough so flesh couldn't close)

**IF HE RIPS MY LEGS OFF, I'LL BITE HIM TO DEATH **_**sunlight, sunlight**_

(he broke her legs with callous grace, her ankles crushed and her toes unsaved)

**IF HE RIPS MY HEAD OFF, I'LL STARE HIM TO DEATH **_**don't block out my sunlight**_

(he pulled the hair from her head in clumps, she couldn't see till they landed on her chest in lumps)

**AND IF HE GOUGES OUT MY EYES, I'LL CURSE HIM FROM THE GRAVE **_**sunlight, sunlight, where is my sunlight**_

(he forced her to look at him, to meet his eyes, but every time he did she never cried out for release)

**EVEN IF I'M TORN TO SHREDS, I'M TAKING SASUKE BACK FROM OROCHIMARU **_**sunlight, sunlight, I love you my sunlight**_

(he said his name and tore her clothes to shreds, she thought of Sasuke's spine and his navy blue bed)

_**IF YOU'RE GONE **__I'm scared _

(his mouth)

_**TO ME **__I'm scared of hoping_

(his teeth)

_**IT WILL BE THE SAME**__ I'm scared of hoping Sasuke_

(his hands)

_**AS BEING **__Sasuke will_

_**ALONE **_

_**ALONE**_

_**ALONE**_

_Sasuke will save me-_

(sunlight, sunlight, through cracks in the wall, sunlight, sunlight,

who's breaking down the wall?)

* * *

**Next chapter preview :**

"Help him. Please."

_"There is only one Uchiha left to supply."_

**"There's something you need to know about Itachi."**

* * *

...**so that's easily the most twisted thing I've ever written.**

**Okay, so what the hell was that whole ending sequence?  
**Hopefully you guys got it, but it was basically Sakura's torture by Zetsu from her perspective. She gone cray cray.

**Where are the quotes from the ending from?  
**The original quotes are:

"I don't care who I have to fight, if he rips my arms out, I'll kick him to death. If he rips my legs off, I'll bite him to death. If he rips my head off, I'll stare him to death. And if he gouges out my eyes, I'll curse him from the grave. Even if I'm torn to shreds, I'm taking Sasuke back from Orochimaru!" – Naruto says this to Sai when Sai questions why he's bothering to bring back Sasuke

"On that day, you taught me that solitude is painful! I understand that so well now. I have family and I have friends…but if you're gone, to me, it will be the same as being alone." – Sakura says this to Sasuke as he's leaving Konoha behind.

**So why those quotes?  
**Sakura thinks initially of Naruto during the torture and I felt that quote from Naruto sums him up so well. It also made for awesome juxtaposition with what was actually going on so whoopdeedoop for twisted minds.

The second quote is what Sakura says to Sasuke. I actually hate this quote because it sums up everything that I hate about canon!Sakura. It made sense to use it here, when she's all on her own- in this fic I believe Sakura hates Sasuke and will only accept help from him unless he owes her a debt, not merely for the sake of helping her. She's too proud for that. Here Sakura needs his help but she's all alone without him to help her, so the quote fit.

I say all this, but maybe it sounds like absolute bullshit to you guys.

**HOOOOLD UP. WHO BROKE DOWN THE WALL.  
**Nobody you were expecting.

**So that was a short chapter.  
**BUT IT WAS SO MENTALLY DRAINING. PLEASE TELL ME YOU ARE AS EMOTIONALLY DRAINED AS I AM.

**WHOA. Sasuke's vulnerable as hell! What happened!  
**…this bitch's characterisation just keeps running away from me. Even months after not touching this fic HE'S STILL SO DIFFICULT TO WRITE.

I've always believed Sasuke possesses great power and great vulnerability. I've accelerated the Mangekyou life-ruining process here, but it's basically the same concept. He's been using the Mangekyou a lot by having to rein in Juugo's rages- the stupid boy also strains himself by leaving them on all the time. I dropped tiny, tiny, tiny hints (so tiny that I only just remembered what I was trying to do after reading the whole fic over for the first time in months) that his eyes are getting weaker and weakening him. Imma go back and try to find the instances.

Chapter 8:  
_As she watched him, she noticed how the grey fabric clung to his body like that of a skeleton's, how defined his cheekbones were. It had been so easy for him to hide his weight from her before because he had always worn billowing clothing, but when the wet fabric clung to him like a second skin…he looked so sick._

Chapter 9:  
_The hospital was an eerie sterile white that hurt Sasuke's failing eyes._

_The village had always looked wrong and grotesque to him- the harsh buildings were too tall and the dark streets too narrow and forever empty. But the rain muted all of the colours, like a dimmer on a television screen, to the point that they no longer pained his failing eyes._

Chapter 10:  
_He moulded chakra to his eyes and hissed in agony as his vision cleared and the pounding in his head worsened_

Chapter 11:  
_He flinched as blinding white light attacked his tortured corneas, ripping his nerves to shreds, and then suddenly he could sense nobody inside the room._

Sasuke's eyes are really fucked bbz. And they hurt him a lot. I thought it would make sense for his vulnerability and pain to come to a head here, after he's emotionally and physically tired from saving Juugo, dealing with his feelings with Sakura and having to cope with Madara/Zetsu one-upping him again. I understand if ya'll hate me, but it made sense here.

And before anyone rages about why Karin was the one to help him with his vulnerability and naht Sakura- Team Hawk is a team, and Sasuke has friends other than Sakura and Naruto.

**What the? What was Konan's purpose? Why did she give Sasuke a flower? HUH?  
**Kishimoto has the subtlety of the Loch Ness monster in a swimming pool, so you always see parallels between every (important) generation of thee-man teams. Sasuke is reminiscent of Orochimaru, Kakashi and Nagato. Naruto is reminiscent of Jiraiya, Obito and Yahiko. Sakura is reminiscent of Tsunade, Rin and Konan- I wanted Konan to be here as a kind of warning as to what could become of Team 7. She has omega introspective on the situation so she was cool to throw in here. THE EYES. IT'S ALL IN THE EYES. The flower is also super important. Don't forget the flower.

**That temple sounds so familiar.  
**The temple in this chapter is the same one Jiraiya took Konan, Yahiko and Nagato to train as children. Again, warning of what mistakes not to make and a horrible reminder of the past- ANGST ANGST ANGST.

**When does Naruto come in again? FOR REALZ.  
**He won't come back until the Konoha arc. (OH WHAT THE DID I JUST SPOIL EVERYTHING FOR YOU)

**Minor edits? What did you do?  
**I made minor edits to all the previous chapters, none big enough to really affect the entire story but enough to stop me from cringing when I read this fic. Don't worry, you probably won't even notice them. The biggest change was changing the kid Mitose's name to Koharu. I have no idea what I was smoking when I picked Mitose as a viable name. WHAT WAS I THINKING. (...went and googled the name. Sorry to anyone who is called Mitose.)

* * *

_Sorry for my long absence bbz, but I LOVE ALL OF YOU SO MUCH. Thank you to everyone who continued to review and message despite an absence as awkward as the dark ages._

_I am so lucky to have readers and reviewers like you. Thank you so much for everything._

_- selandora_


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